14 Days on Earth
by IantojJackh
Summary: 14 days on Earth every year and a half. This is how Jennifer and Rodney spent it. Life is never easy for Rodney. Picks up where Brain Storm left off. Complete!
1. Day 1

**Rating: **T

**Spoilers: **Season Five: Takes place after Brain Storm

**A/N: **__Please leave a review.

**14 Days on Earth **

_Day 1- Back at the SGC_

Rodney sat on the edge of a table with a look of smug satisfaction as he watched Cameron Mitchell and Samantha Carter question Malcolm Tunney about his space/time bridge. He only wished that the other genius knew he was watching this interrogation from the room next door. "Serves him right. He'd be lucky if he could publish anything ever again." He was going to say more but he was distracted as Jennifer started to run her fingers through his hair.

Jennifer sighed as he started in on the topic again. "I thought we weren't going to go down this road again?"

"Oh." He pouted and sighed defeated. "But...It's...Just that. If he had just listened to me in the first place none of this would have happened. You wouldn't almost have died. You have no idea how scary it was to see you like that."

Keller shook her head and smiled as she stood in front of Rodney, placing her hands on each of his knees and pressed her lips to his forehead. "I have an idea."

Rodney looked up at her confused. "How...Oh, yeah." He pointed to where the small surgical scar was on his head.

Jennifer nodded. "Watching you deteriorate like that was the one of the hardest things I had to watch." She looked into his eyes, thankful that they had the chance to be here with one another. "After a while I never thought I would get this chance." She slid her hands up his side and came to a rest on his face.

"But we are here now." He looked up at her with a wide grin. Rodney thought he was one of the luckiest man in any galaxy to have this woman in love with him.

She nodded. "That we are." Keller lowered her head so that her lips were less than an inch from Rodney's.

"You know someone can walk in at any moment?" The temptation to kiss her was overwhelming. It was taking all his willpower not to erase the distance between their lips. Rodney rested his hands on Jennifer's hips and started to pull her body closer to him.

Jennifer let herself be pulled, but when his hand touched a small spot above her right hip she winced a bit. "You know what is going to leave a mark?" She teased him.

"Sorry." McKay pouted. "I didn't mean to bite you... that hard. The plane hit turbulence... "

Jennifer smirked, playing with his hair again. "You are just going to have to make it up to me."

"You know I can kiss it and make it better." Rodney lifted her shirt slightly and started to kiss the mark on her hip. He had forgotten all about Malcolm being interrogated next door.

"Rodney!" She laughed, trying to pull away but Jennifer was not trying very hard.

Sam had finished questioning Malcolm and she now had a few questions for Rodney. She figured he could fill her in on some of the things Tunney could not answer. When she opened the door she had to tilt her head to figure out what Rodney was doing to Jennifer. Carter had heard that the two Atlantis department heads had gone to Tunney's presentation together, but she did not expect this.

Sam cleared her throat before the two went any further with whatever they were doing. "McKay, we are done with Malcolm. I just have a few questions for you."

Jennifer jumped and moved away from Rodney. Her face was very red and the room suddenly got uncomfortably warm.

Rodney opened his mouth to speak but no words came. He could not look Carter in the eye. "Sure." He squeaked. He was not sure whose face was brighter; his or Jennifer's.

Keller finally spoke up. "I have to catch my plane." She looked at Rodney and then back at Sam.

"I'll be right outside. I will give you two a minute." Sam said. She would give the two a couple minutes to say goodbye.

Rodney laughed nervously. "Why do I feel like we got busted by teacher for making out in the bathroom?"

"Because we did get busted expect it wasn't the bathroom." She shifted nervously on her feet. "I should really get going for my flight. When do you leave?"

"I was supposed to leave in an hour, but I have to finish up my report. They put me on flight later tonight." He smiled sheepishly. "I'll call you when I get to Jeannie's house."

Jennifer nodded. "Talk to you then." She stole a quick kiss from him. "See you in a week."

"See you then." While on the plane they had made plans to spend one week with their respective families and then their last week would be for them. Rodney pulled her in for their last kiss for a while. "Have a safe flight."

"Bye." Jennifer left and could hardly look at her ex-boss. "See you soon." She tucked some hair behind her ear and hurried away.

After Jennifer rushed past her, Sam returned to the room where Rodney was trying to finish composing himself. "I didn't see this one coming."

"Excuse me?" Rodney tried to get his hair back in place.

Sam smiled. "Interesting match." She shook her head. "Good for you Rodney. Don't hurt her like the last one. " She had gotten friendly with Jennifer in the year she had spent on Atlantis.

"Um, thank you. I think." Rodney did not know how to respond to that. "I have no intention of hurting Jennifer. Besides it's only been one date." He tried to make it seem like the date was no big deal, but he was not doing a good job of it.

"Yeah right. That was more like fourth or fifth date action."

"Well enough of that." Rodney wanted to change the subject. "So what did Malcolm have to say? How did he get a hold of my paper?"

Sam sighed. "The file was accidently sent to him."

"What is going to happen to Tunney?" He was curious what is going to happen.

"He is not going to be publishing anything anytime soon. " Carter smirked. "Nor working any science related jobs. "

"How did you manage that?" Rodney was curious and quite happy about that.

"It was either that or prison time. He really does not seem like the type to do well prison." Sam nodded.

Rodney shrugged. "That is what you get for stealing ideas. He would never be able to cut it as a member of my staff. He obviously can't come up with his own ideas." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Malcolm said he was the one who was able to shut down the bridge." Sam looked at Rodney. She had expected him to have done it.

McKay huffed. "Oh, really? I was the one that came up with the coding and the idea to open the second space/time bridge." Rodney was getting mad. _Still taking credit for my work. That bastard._

"What were you doing when he was shutting down the bridge." Sam pointed out.

Rodney blushed. "I had something else to do." He really did not want to get into his reasons with her.

Sam was intrigued as to what could have pulled him away from being able to brag about saving the day. "Like what? It is not like you to back away from having the chance to brag about saving everyone."

McKay rolled his eyes. "I had to save Jennifer. She was trapped and if I didn't get to her when I did she would have died." He looked up at the military woman.

Carter was impressed. "Wow, McKay. I'm impressed." She had seen the change in him during her year on Atlantis and now a year later he had changed even more.

"Funny." He pushed himself off the table. "I need to finish my report so I can start my leave." Rodney started to leave. "If you have any other questions for me I will be in your lab."

* * *

_7 hours later_

Rodney was glad to finally get out of the SGC especially from the teasing he was getting from Sam about him and Jennifer. Now he was stuck in the airport in Salt Lake City, his connecting flight to Vancouver was delayed due to weather. McKay was mentally cursing that the Daedalus was on its way to Earth and the Apollo on its way to Atlantis, forcing him to travel the normal Earth way. Looking, at his watch Rodney knew was quite late in Wisconsin, but he hoped Jennifer was still up.

Jennifer was about get into bed when she heard her cell phone ring. She knew exactly who was calling. "Got to Jeannie's?"

He smiled to himself when she picked up. "Not exactly. My connection in Salt Lake got delayed. So I'm waiting for the weather to clear. How was your flight?"

"It was okay. " She laid back on the bed. "Was about to turn in for the night."

"Oh." Rodney frowned. "I'll let you go then. I just wanted to hear your voice." He admitted.

His admission made Jennifer blush. "Is that so? Now that you heard my voice what are you going to do?"

"There is nothing I can do." Rodney answered. "You are too far."

"It will only be a week. I have something of yours to help." She said with a cryptic smile.

"Really? What would that be?" He was intrigued.

Jennifer smirked to herself, wishing he could see her. "I stole one of your t-shirts from your bag. I have it on now. It is the only thing I have on."

Rodney laughed. "Now I wish I could have stolen something of yours." He never felt so at ease so quickly with a woman before.

"You wouldn't look good in one my shirts." She teased.

The conversation continued on its playful flirty way for a half hour until Rodney's flight started to board. He let out a sigh. "They are boarding." He was disappointed that he had to go.

Jennifer sighed. "If you must. Have a safe flight. Call me when you get in."

Rodney liked that she said that. There was something in the way she said it that made him feel warm inside. "I will. Talk to you soon." He was getting ready to hang up.

"Bye. "Jennifer drew her knees up to her chest, feeling the comfort of wearing his shirt.

"See you then." The week could not go fast enough for him. "I'll miss you." Rodney said before he hung up. It had been a crazy day and he was exhausted. As he boarded the plane, Rodney had to pinch himself to make sure this was not having one of the dreams he had of the doctor since her arrival on Atlantis. "Not a dream." McKay looked at the mark left by pinch.


	2. Day 2

Rating: T

**Spoilers**: Season 5; takes place after Brain Storm

**Characters/Pairing:** Rodney McKay/ Jennifer Keller

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters or Stargate: Atlantis

**A/N:** Sorry this took so long, but between vacation last week and finishing up my other story this got pushed aside, but not anymore.

_Day 2- Family time_

By the time his flight had landed and Rodney arrived at his sister's house it was after two in the morning and then past three when he finally got to sleep. So, he was not too pleased when he felt someone jumping on his back. _Uncle Rodney_ were the words that were repeated until he cracked up in eyes and saw Madison sitting on his back. He had to wonder what time it was. Rodney did not appreciate being woken up so early and being pulled away from the dream he was having about Jennifer. He was dreaming about their love making on the plane. "It's too early." He whined. _This is why I am not having kids._

"Come on it's time to wake up. We have lots to do." Madison was still trying to get her uncle to wake up. "No sleeping."

"Yes, there is sleeping. I am tired." Rodney placed the pillow over his head. "I was having a very nice dream that I want to go back to."

"What was it about?" Madison asked curiously as she pulled the pillow from Rodney's face.

"I don't think your mom would approve." He lifted his head off the bed.

"Meredith," Jeannie glared from the open door.

"What?" Rodney asked innocently. "She asked. I wasn't going to tell."

Madison looked between her mother and uncle confused.

"Maddie, why don't you go downstairs and help your dad finish making breakfast."

"Okay." The little girl jumped off the bed. "Don't stay in bed too long." Madison ordered before leaving the room.

"Back to bed I go," Rodney pulled the covers back over his head. "Have a nice dream to get back to."

Jeannie rolled her eyes. "Maddie is expecting you down for breakfast." She thought he could have time later to go back to his fantasies.

The physicist sighed, knowing Madison would come back for him if he did not get up. "I need a few minutes. Need to change first."

"What you are wearing is fine. It is only breakfast."

"Trust me I need to change. Side effect of the dream I was having." Rodney could feel the wet and sticky spot on boxers. He was probably sixteen the last time he had a wet dream and he found it odd that now at forty he was having one, but it was a pretty graphic dream he had.

Jeannie scrunched up her nose. "That is gross and too much information. You better clean my sheets."

Rodney rolled his eyes, "Don't worry your sheets are fine. I'll be downstairs in a few minutes." He was trying to get rid of his sister.

"It's good to have you here for two weeks. Madison really missed you and me too." She frowned recalling the last time she had seen him.

"Can I get changed now?" He was annoyed that she was still around. "I promise not to go back to sleep. Even though I've only had three hours of it." Rodney was not ready to tell her he would only be here for one week.

Jeannie shook her head as she left the room. She was glad he was back to his old self even if it was the cranky side of him.

Rodney quickly changed into the clothes he would be wearing for the day. He stopped at the doorway of the kitchen and watched as the family ate breakfast together. For a brief moment he imagined that one day that could be him and Jennifer with a child. _Where did that come from?_ He thought it was a little too soon to be having thoughts like that.

"How was your flight?" Kaleb asked.

McKay was still in his own little word. "Huh what?" He returned to reality.

"Your flight?" Jeannie looked at her brother. "You okay?"

"Just fine." Rodney made it seem like everything was fine. He would not dare share those thoughts with his sister. He knew she would tease him and he was not sure what she thought of Jennifer since the parasite incident. "My connection in Salt Lake City was delayed so I got in a couple of hours ago." Rodney took the free seat next to Madison. "What do you have planned for me today?" He put on his best interested face.

"Finger painting and tea party." She was excited to have a new playmate. "You have to wear the hat."

_Tea party. Oh joy. Never have any girls._ "Sounds wonderful." _Not really. Have to play nice._ Rodney shot a worried look at his sister. She had to get him out of it.

"Sorry Mer." Jeannie laughed. "We all have to do it."

* * *

Jennifer sat on the porch swing in front of her childhood home, sipping a cup of coffee. She had forgotten how quiet it was here and it was a little unsettling. In her two years on Atlantis she had gotten used its chaotic atmosphere where quiet was never to be found. The cool crisp air did not bother her one bit since it was a refreshing change from the barely varying weather on Atlantis.

"Sleep well, Jenny Bean?" Scott Keller asked, sitting next to his daughter. Scott had a resemblance to John Sheppard except that the older man had less hair and twenty pounds on the military man.

She rolled her eyes at the use of the nickname. Jennifer had always hated the name but she could never tell her father. "I did. Forgot how quiet it was here in the morning." She slowly sipped from her coffee.

"You know you can come home more often." He looked at his daughter. The elder Keller had no idea how far from home his daughter's job took her. "This is the first time you've been home in two years."

"Dad." Jennifer sighed. "You know I can't. It is not like when I was working in Colorado. I send an email whenever I can."

"Twice a month is not a lot." Scott put his arm around his daughter. "Do they not have telephones where you are?"

"Not exactly." She could not tell her father that she was in living in another galaxy.

"Are you happy? People treating you well?" He was in protective father mode.

Jennifer smiled as she thought of Rodney, "I'm happy. Really happy." She shifted slightly. "I work with some pretty amazing people."

The father smiled. "That is good." He looked at his daughter. "You are here for two weeks, right?"

She made a face. "I was supposed to, but something came up for next week." Jennifer knew that her father would not be happy with that.

Scott frowned. "You have to go back to work?"

Jennifer shook her head. "I made plans with a _friend_." She did not want to mention that it was her boyfriend; one that she would get to spend time with when she was at work. She thought it might hurt his feelings.

That got the father's attention. "A friend?" he asked. "Does this friend have a name?" Scott gave his daughter a knowing look. He wondered if it was someone who was more than a friend.

She looked down for a second and then back at her father. What was a little lie by omission. She hated lying to her father. "Meredith." Jennifer knew Rodney would be mad at her for this, but at she would have a few days to find a way to explain him to her father. Rodney was quite different from the few men she had brought home before. He was only nine years younger than Scott and she worried about her father's reaction to the age difference. Then there was her feelings for McKay; she was not sure how she could put it into words for her father. They had only been on one date, but after two years of being in love with the person the feelings between them not where one is normally after one date.

"That's nice. What are your plans?" He could tell there was something she was hiding, but it was not clear what.

"Vegas." It had been Rodney idea. He had said he wanted to try out a new probability theory he had been working on.

"Sounds like fun." Scott patted Jennifer's knee. "I was going to head to the grocery store. Do you want to come?"

Jennifer nodded. "I would like that."

_

* * *

_

_Later that night_

Rodney was laying face first on his bed. Madison had worn him out with her finger painting, tea party and other things little girls do to torture their uncles. He would have to ask Jennifer if she did these kind of things to her uncles when she was growing up. He reached into his pocket for his cell phone to call and ask.

Jennifer was finishing brushing her teeth when she heard her phone go off. "Hey there, sexy." She grinned into the phone.

"Sexy?" He asked with a laugh. It had been a while since someone had called him that. This woman was good for his ego among other things.

"Got a problem with that?"

"No...no...no problem at all." Rodney rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling.

"How is Vancouver? Got the picture of you sent. Finger painting?" Rodney had sent a picture that had said _I miss you _done with finger paints.

"Was tortured by Madison. There was also a tea party and other girly things I had to do. Did you do things like that to your uncles when you were that age?" He was pouting, knowing that she could not see him.

Jennifer smiled and felt her heart swell when she heard the things he did with his niece. "Sometimes." She started to laugh. "Bet you looked cute doing those things."

"Cute? I should have sent you the picture of me in the hat."

"There was a hat?" She laughed, imagining what kind of hat it was. "Am I going to have to start calling you Meredith?"

Rodney grumbled. "Not funny. That is evil."

Jennifer frowned. "I still think you are sexy, no matter what name you go by." She figured she had to give his ego a little bump.

"Now you are just trying to butter me up."

"Is it working?"

"I don't know." Rodney thought on the subject. He was not really mad, but he wanted to see where she would take this.

"I could come over there and kiss you to make it all better." Jennifer said with a naughty smirk.

"You are almost 1900 miles away and with the Daedalusand Odyssey not near Earth you are not getting here anything time soon." Rodney countered.

Jennifer had to laugh. "You figured out how far it is from Vancouver to here?" That was her geek for you.

"And so?"

She bit her lip. "Makes me realize I was right to fall in love with you. Who ever knew you had such a romantic side?"

Scott did not mean to listen in on the conversation, but he could not help to catch key parts. His daughter was dating this Meredith she mentioned earlier. She was dating a woman? He had heard enough and hurried to his room. He would be having a long talk with Jennifer in the morning.

"Just needed to find the right person to share it with." Rodney smirked.

"You really know the way to my heart, Rodney." Jennifer looked at the clock. "It is getting late. My dad has an early day planned for us."

"Wouldn't want you to miss out of your beauty sleep. Love you, Dr. Keller."

"Love you, too." Jennifer hung up the phone, feeling quite content.


	3. Day 3

**Rating: **T

**Spoilers: **Season Five: Takes place after Brain Storm

**A/N: **Please leave a review. Reposting this after some revisions and changes. Lesson learned. Do not edit chapters when you are not feeling well after a trip to the ER.

Day 3- To Tell the Truth

Rodney was glad Madison and Jeannie had let him sleep in. This was his vacation and he did not want to have to be up at six in the morning every day. He reached for his cell phone and saw that it was nearing noon. He really enjoyed his restful sleep and knew there would not be much time for rest once he got to Vegas. Rodney looked around the first level of the house, found it empty and wondered where everyone could be. He made himself comfortable on the couch and turned on the television. Since there was nothing interesting on; Rodney soon found himself falling back asleep.

Jeannie was the first to enter the house as Madison and Kaleb were unloading the bags from the trunk of the Prius Rodney had brought them a year ago. She looked at her sleeping brother, "Just how much sleep do you need?" She said loud enough to wake him.

He rubbed his eyes as his nap was disturbed. "Lots. I am still a growing boy," Rodney deadpanned.

"Cute." She rolled her eyes. "Are you sure you okay? No lasting effects from that parasite?"

McKay looked over at his sister, "I'm fine. Clean bill of health. Where did you go?" He sat up and yawned.

"Health food store." Jeannie saw the face Rodney was starting to make, "Don't start." She pointed at him.

"Come on." Rodney whined. "I am not going to get any real food for the rest of the week, am I?" He pretended that he was going to cry.

"Rest of the week?" She looked at him. "What about next week?" Jeannie was not happy with this change of plans.

Rodney sucked his lip, "I made plans for next week. Don't be mad."

"What kind of plans? Don't tell me you are spending a week back at the SGC working." _He is too addicted to work. What kind of life is that?_

"No work for me this trip. I know that is a little hard to believe." He was stalling.

"Then what?" Jeannie wanted answers.

"Two nights in Wisconsin, then four in Las Vegas and after that a nice three week trip back to Atlantis."

She looked confused, "What is there to do in Wisconsin?" Jeannie had no idea what he could possibly do there.

"Pick up the one I am going to Vegas with," Rodney replied.

That bit of news interested her, "A female someone?"

"Yes. A female someone." He said with a playful smirk.

"Someone from Atlantis?"

"Do you need to ask?" Rodney replied. "I know you weren't too happy with Jennifer..."

That was all Jeannie needed to here, "It is about time, you idiot."

"What?" Rodney was confused by his sister's reaction.

Jeannie shook her head, "I saw the way you two looked at each other after you woke up from surgery." She smiled softly. "I'll admit I didn't like her much at first. She did save your life and for some reason she is in love with you."

"You knew?" He asked.

"It was obvious after a while." She had started to see the doctor in a different light once she realized her actions were fueled by her feelings for Rodney. She was doing everything to save the life of the man she loved.

"It wasn't obvious to me." Rodney laughed.

"Figures. She could have danced naked in front of you and you wouldn't have had a clue." Jeannie patted his cheek, "You may be a genius but you are kind of oblivious when it comes to woman."

He was relieved that Jeannie was okay with Jennifer. "I've never felt this way about anyone before. It is kind of scary."

Jeannie raised an eyebrow, "That serious? How many dates have you gone on?"

Rodney looked up at his sister and shrugged, "One, but I've been in love with her for two years."

"That long? Wait. You almost proposed to that Katie woman while you were in love with someone else?"

Rodney winced and nodded, "Kinda. I never thought I would have had a chance with someone like Jennifer. And you said couldn't do better than Katie."

Jeannie looked at her brother and smiled. She could not recall a time she had seen him this happy. "Just don't get married when you are in Vegas, okay."

"Huh? What? Oh no. That is not why we are going. Really. The thought never crossed my mind. What if that is what Jennifer expects?" Rodney looked very distressed. "I'm not ready to get married yet. No...no. Maybe I should cancel the trip and we can go someplace else."

"Mer, relax." Jeannie did not mean to get him going like this. "I was only kidding. Enjoy your trip with your girlfriend."

"Thanks, brat." He smirked. "Trust me I will _enjoy _it." Rodney sounded like a dirty old man.

"I do not want details." Jeannie rolled her eyes. "You can be such a pig at times."

"You have a girlfriend?" Madison pouted as she stood in the door. She did not like this idea of a girlfriend. "What about me?"

The siblings burst out laughing at the same time.

Rodney smirked, "Don't worry you are still my favorite." He leaned to his sister. "You explain it to her."

Jeannie flashed an evil smirk, "I will tell her your girlfriend can help her get a cousin." She whispered.

Rodney's face fell, "You wouldn't." His mouth flapped as he tried to talk.

* * *

Jennifer had spent most of the morning shopping for her trip with Rodney. Yesterday her father had said they were going to a local farmer's market this morning, but when she woke up she found a note that he had gotten called into work for a few hours. The free time gave her the opportunity to do the kind of shopping that she could not do with her father.

She thought her father would have a heart attack if he knew what she had purchased: a very revealing piece of lingerie, a bottle of massage oil and a pair of handcuffs. Jennifer also picked up a modest looking bathing suit. She had to put a mostly proper appearance in public, but in private with her boyfriend she could do anything. When she entered the house she saw her father looking upset, "Everything okay?"

Scott did not get much sleep after he overheard his daughter's phone call. It had been a bit of a shock to learn his daughter was in love with a woman. He had lied about going to work so he could gather his thoughts. The elder Keller had been raised to believe that this kind of behavior was wrong and now he had to have a serious talk with his daughter. "No." Scott said with an even tone, his voice displaying no emotion.

The daughter looked at her father curiously, "What is wrong?" She asked as she put her bags down. "Are you feeling okay?" She started to move toward him.

Scott slowly backed away. He loved his daughter, but his heart was breaking. His hope of ever having grandchildren was gone. It was all from overhearing one phone conversation. He wished he had not eavesdropped. Scott lowered his head and sighed heavily, "What is in the bags?" he asked.

Jennifer was worried now. It was obvious something was wrong and she could not place what it was. "I had to pick up some things for my trip next week."

Scott frowned when she brought up the trip, "I think this trip is a bad idea. You shouldn't be going."

"What? Why?" She wondered why he did not say anything yesterday. "I know I said I was going to be here for two weeks..."

"I overheard your phone call last night." He interrupted.

Jennifer's face fell, "Oh. I should have told you the truth yesterday."

Scott's face started to turn red, "That would have been nice." He tried to keep his temper in check. She was still his little girl and the only connection he had to his late wife.

"I'm sorry." She said softly. "I did not know how to tell you..." Jennifer was interrupted again.

"Just answer me one question. Can you do that? Please be honest with me."

"Okay sure?" Jennifer was still eying her father. She had hoped she would have another day before she had to tell him about Rodney.

"Do you love this Meredith you were on the phone with last night?" Scott tried to sound happy, but his tone had a hint of disgust.

"Yes," She tried to look at her father, but he refused to meet his eyes. "Dad? Why are you acting like this?" He had never reacted this way when she brought her exs to meet him.

"This is all kind of new to me. Please forgive me, but this whole thing is going to take some getting used to." Scott could feel the nausea rising from his stomach.

"New?" Jennifer was really lost now. "This is not the first time I am bringing a boyfriend home for you to meet."

The father looked at his daughter and sighed, "But this isn't exactly a boyfriend now, isn't it?"

"Oh." It dawned on her now; her father thought Rodney was a female. Jennifer laughed nervously. "I think we had a little misunderstanding."

Scott did not know what to say. "A misunderstanding how? Are you dating a woman or not?"

She was mentally kicking herself for not being honest enough the previous evening. She could only imagine the image her father had of Rodney and she knew McKay would freak out if he knew what was going on. "No. Rodney never goes by his first name."

"Meredith is a he?" He was not sure if he was hearing her right.

Jennifer nodded, "Yes. Not a common name for a man. I should have just told you the truth yesterday. "

Scott let out a sigh of relief, "What kind of people name their son Meredith?"

"I don't think Rodney even knows." Jennifer had heard some of Rodney's thoughts on the subject, but she was not going to share them with her father.

"This means I can call Josh Clarkson and tell him not to come over?" The father said with a slight shrug.

"Josh?" Jennifer crinkled her nose as she recalled her ex from her first year of med school. "He was kind of creepy dad. Why would you call him?"

"It does not matter now." Scott shook his head. He had called the young man in hopes that his daughter would have seen the error in her ways and give the man another chance.

"I think it does, dad." She looked at her father, crossing arms over her chest. "You could have just asked me last night."

"And you could have been truthful with me yesterday as well. What was so hard in telling me you were going on a trip with your boyfriend?" He challenged. Scott would not have been upset if she had just told him the truth.

Jennifer looked down at her feet and then back at her father, "Rodney is different from anyone I've dated before." The handful of men Jennifer had introduced were the jock type who offered no type of intellectual stimulation.

"He's not married is he?" Scott asked.

"No."

"Then what is he like? You are not giving me much go on here, Jen. He works with you? What does he do? Are you allowed to tell me that?" He was not sure how much she was allowed to tell him about her job.

Jennifer smirked, "I can tell you that much. Rodney is a scientist."

Scott smirked, "So this one has some brains." He thought this would be a welcome change.

"You have no idea." She said with a slight laugh. "He has PhDs in physics and mechanical engineering."

"Was that so hard?" He smiled, glad to see his little girl was happy. Scott would have to reserve any further judgment until he met the man. "You said he will be coming here before you leave for Vegas?"

Jennifer nodded, "Just don't be too hard on Rodney."

Scott shook his head, "I cannot make any promises until I talk to him."

She closed her eyes and hoped her father would not get Rodney on one of his rambling rants were he would say something he shouldn't.

* * *

Jennifer looked at the time on her cell phone and frowned when she saw the time flashing _10:00 PM_. She had sent Rodney a few text messages and called a few times, but he had not responded to either. It was not like him and he would usually have called by now.

"Why the long face?" Scott asked as he came downstairs for a glass of water.

"Rodney's not picking up his phone." She looked at the phone. Her two years on Atlantis had made her paranoid when someone was out of contact for longer than expected. Also, a quiet Rodney was never a good sign.

He laughed, "You've got it bad."

Jennifer rolled her eyes, "Funny. It is just not like him, that is all." She frowned again. "I am going to try one last time." She dialed Rodney's number again.

Jeannie had been watching Rodney sleep for the past half hour. She knew she should not have agreed to let him take them out for Mexican, but he had been very insistent. She was now in the emergency department of Vancouver General Hospital loo,king at her brother hooked up to a nasal cannula. It was a little unsettling to see him like that, but the doctor had insisted that it was not necessary and they only had it on Rodney for therapeutic reasons; in case he needed some help as his breathing returned to normal.

She was started by a ringing phone and it took her a moment to realize it was coming from Rodney's coat. She fumbled around his coat pocket and grabbed the phone. Looking at the caller ID she saw that Jennifer was calling. Her brother had insisted that she not call his girlfriend because Rodney did not to worry her and wanted Jennifer to enjoy the time with her father. He never said anything that she could not talk to Jennifer if she called looking for him. "Jennifer, it's Jeannie." She said as picked up the phone.

"Jeannie?" Jennifer asked confused as she heard the other woman on the phone. "What's wrong?" She knew something had to be if she was answering her brother's phone.

Scott looked at his daughter when it sounded like a woman picked up the phone. He gave Jennifer a questioning looking.

"His sister." Jennifer mouthed to her father when she saw the look he gave her. She felt a sense of dread coming as she waiting for Jeannie to respond.

"Mer's fine now. Just waiting for the doctor to release him." She explained.

Jennifer felt a lump form in her throat, "What happened? Why did you have to go to the hospital?" She wondered why Rodney had been bought to the hospital. In the two years since she had know the cranky physicist she had seen him come into the infirmary for a wide variety of maladies.

The elder Keller started to look worried when his daughter mentioned going to the hospital. He wondered how serious it could be as he could not read Jennifer's expression.

"His citrus allergy. Mer double checked to make sure there was no citrus in the lunch he ordered…"

"But apparently there was. How bad was the reaction?" Anaphylaxis was the one thing she had not treated him for.

Jeannie sighed, "Pretty bad. It took two injections of epinephrine to get his breathing back to normal and he has some nasty looking hives on his arms and back. My brother left his pens in the car so there was a delay. He has one of those breathing things in his nose."

Jennifer winced at the description, "A nasal cannula…Can I talk to him?" She was only asking to be polite and wanted to hear from him that he was okay.

"He's sleeping. Tried to wake him a few minutes ago, but he slapped my hand away."

Keller sighed relieved, "Why didn't you call me sooner?"

Jeannie rolled his eyes, "He told me not to. Didn't want you to worry or ruin your time with your dad."

"How nice of him." She said sarcastically. "Did he think that not returning my calls or texts wouldn't worry me?"

"You know my brother. Doesn't always think everything through."

"I'm going to take the first flight…" Jennifer started to say.

Jeannie stopped her, "You don't have to. This is why Mer didn't want to call you. He wanted you to spend the time with your dad."

Jennifer was torn. Part of her was worried for Rodney and wanted to see for herself that he was okay and she also didn't want to have to cut her visit short with her father. She sighed, "Make sure Rodney calls me when he wakes up."

"I will." Jeannie looked over at her still sleeping brother. It was stupid of him not to have let his girlfriend know what was happening to him.

"Thanks." Jennifer hung up the phone and shook her head.

Scott had been listening to his daughter's side of the conversation. Whatever had happened was not good. "Everything okay?"

She sighed, "I don't know. I think so. I don't think so." The doctor was not sure if Jeannie had been totally truthful with her.

"What happened?"

"Rodney is severely allergic to citrus and he had an episode while at lunch. His sister is with him in the emergency room." Jennifer crossed her arms over her chest, looking very distressed.

Scott could see his daughter was upset and wanted to help her, "You want to see for yourself if he is okay?"

She did not know what to do, "Did you renew your passport?" Jennifer asked. This way she could have it both ways.

Scott nodded, "Yes." He wondered what a passport had to do with it.

"Want to take a trip to Canada with me?" She asked hopefully.

"Something tells me I don't have a choice."

"Thanks, dad." Jennifer hugged her father tightly. This really meant a lot to her. She planned on calling Sam to see if the colonel could pull some strings and get them to Vancouver as soon as possible.


	4. Day 4

**Rating: T**

**Spoilers**: Season 5; takes place after Brain Storm

**Characters/Pairing:** Rodney McKay/ Jennifer Keller

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the characters or Stargate: Atlantis

**A/N: **This chapter kind of took on a life of its own. Since I wanted to keep with the 1 Day=1 Chapter this took a while to get done

Day 4- Surprises

It was almost four in the morning when Jeannie arrived home with Jennifer and her father. She was shocked when Jennifer called back after their phone call and asked to be picked up at the airport in a few hours. She was liking the doctor more since she was here just to make sure for herself that Rodney was okay. Jeannie hoped that her brother would realize how lucky he was that someone would do this for him.

Exhaustion was written across everyone's face as they entered the house. It had been a long night for everyone. Scott looked around as he entered, "Is this where you grew up?" he asked Jeannie.

"No," the woman shook her head. "We grew up in Alberta. My husband, Kaleb, grew up not too far from here." Jeannie looked at her two guests, "Do you want me to show you to your rooms?" Her brother would owe her big time for this.

Jennifer was suddenly feeling nervous and was fearful that Rodney would be upset that she came to Vancouver. "I need to get something to drink. Kitchen is that way?"

Scott was beyond tired and he welcomed the offer to be shown a room, "That would be great, thank you." He liked Jeannie and thought if Rodney was anything like her that he would have no problem with him dating his daughter.

"It is," she nodded. "Mr. Keller, I will show you to your room." Jeannie turned to the man. She noticed the resemblance to John Sheppard, but kept it to herself and noted that he could not be that much older than her brother. "Jennifer, I will be down in a few minutes."

Scott followed Jeannie up the stairs, "You have a lovely home, Mrs. Miller." He wanted to know more about Rodney before he met him and Jennifer had not given him much to go on.

"Thank you. And please call me Jeannie." She lead him to his room, "Here you go. I'll be downstairs for a while. You can call if you need anything."

"I will," he retired to his room.

Rodney woke up feeling as if something was crawling under his skin. The hives on his back and arms were driving him crazy and he needed relief fast. He pulled off his shirt before heading out of his room. The cool air felt good on his back and he wished he could stick himself in the freezer to cool his skin. McKay knew he would have to settle for the Benadryl pills and gel that were in the bathroom. As Rodney rounded a corner he stubbed his toe against a door frame and a string of expletives flowed from his mouth as he bent down to rub his toe.

Scott was changing his clothes when he heard a noise from the hall which was then followed by some cursing. Curiosity and concern got the better of him and he opened the door. He had assumed that Jeannie was the older sibling since she looked older than Jennifer, but he was clearly wrong in that assumption. The hobbling man had not noticed him yet; which was good for Scott. He assumed this was Rodney since he still had a hospital bracelet on and hives on his arms and back.

The pain was subsiding in Rodney's toe and his attention was turned back to the extreme itchiness of his back, "Hive is such a bad word. Hives...bee hive...Hive ship. Nothing but trouble."

_Hive ship?_ Scott had never heard of a hive ship before. He was debating if she should talk to other man. He was about to say something when Rodney turned and looked at him.

Suddenly Rodney felt someone watching him and he turned slowly. He was confused as he looked at the man standing in front of him and wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him._ What the hell is he playing at? Where did he get the fat suit? Maybe I'm still sleeping._ He rubbed his eyes and shook his head, "Real funny Sheppard. How long did you plan this one? Not in the mood for you now."

Scott had no idea what was going on and he was questioning this man's sanity. From his rant about hives to this outburst this was not the best first impression, "Excuse me?"

McKay furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as the voice clearly did not belong to John, "You're not Sheppard." If this man was not his best friend then who was he? Jeannie did not mention anything about having a guest on the way home from the hospital. "Never mind," he waved a dismissive hand in front of him. His mind was too muddled to have any meaningful conversation, "I am not going to question why there is a strange man in my sister's house in the middle of the night. I didn't know she was into that stuff. So, if you would excuse me I am going to get my Benadryl and go back to bed. I'm a heavy sleeper so you don't need to worry about the noise," Rodney waved before heading into the bathroom.

The elder Keller shook his head as he was shocked into silence. _This is the man she is dating? Did he just suggest that I am here for sex with his sister?_ Scott wondered if he should give him the benefit of the doubt because maybe he was still out of it from what happened earlier. One thing was for sure and that was he needed to talk to Jennifer.

Jennifer helped herself to a bottle of water and sat down at the kitchen counter. She was tired, but too wired to sleep. The doctor wanted to check on Rodney, but she didn't want to wake him up, knowing that it was the best thing for him now.

"You look exhausted," Jeannie said as she joined Jennifer in the kitchen.

"You have no idea," She could barely contain her yawn.

Jeannie put her hand on Jennifer's arm, "Why don't you go upstairs and get some sleep."

Jennifer shook her head, "Is there anything you are not tell me? Rodney is really okay, right?"

"He's fine. He was whining about his hives on the drive back. Then when we got here he had some jello and went to bed," If that didn't sound like Rodney was fine then she did not know what would. "You've treated Mer for worse."

"But it is different now," the doctor sighed. "This is why doctors should not treat family members. Objectivity flies out the window."

Jeannie smiled and laughed, "You both have fallen hard." It was a statement more than a question.

Jennifer blushed and tucked her hair behind her ear, "There is another side to him. One he doesn't let many people see." She knew that Jeannie was only one of the rare few who understand what she meant.

"I know. It has a bit to do with when he was growing up. My brother did not have the best childhood. Our parents blamed him for a lot of things that he had no control of. He is afraid of getting hurt," She was not sure how much her brother told her of his childhood.

Keller sighed, "He doesn't like to talk about it." Rodney had told her he had a difficult time growing up, but he never went into much detail. She turned when she heard someone coming down the stairs, "Hey, dad."

Scott was still baffled by the run in with Rodney. He knew it was not fair to judge someone who was probably half asleep, but it still had him concerned. "I just had an _interesting_ encounter."

The two woman looked at each other, knowing that could only mean one thing: Rodney did something stupid.

Jennifer gulped, "What happened?"

"What did my brother do?" Jeannie added.

By their reactions Scott sensed that this was not a uncommon occurrence. "He is not one to hold his tongue, is he?"

_Crap! What did he say?_ Tact was not a quality Rodney usually possessed. Jennifer looked at Jeannie and sighed, "How bad was it?" She was scared to hear the answer.

"How bad was it?" Scott echoed Jennifer's question. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Jennifer bit her lip, "Sometimes Rodney has a tendency to ramble a little." _Like when he is nervous, angry, uncomfortable, tired. So maybe it is more than sometimes. _She looked to Jeannie for some backup, "What did he say?"

"I think he was trying to imply that I was here for ..." Scott looked at his daughter and back at Jeannie," ...sex with you."

Jeannie closed her eyes and sighed. _Nice one, Meredith. Real great first impression._

Jennifer buried her head in her hands, "Dad, don't take what Rodney said too seriously. He was probably still half asleep. If he knew who you were he would not have said those things." She had hoped he was half asleep or there could be a problem. She smiled to herself, thinking of some of the conversations they had when he was half asleep. He was adorable with the slightly slurred speech and half closed eyes. At least once a week for the past three months they had fallen asleep while talking on the couches in the mess hall.

Scott eyed his daughter, "Maybe I should wait until later reserve judgment." He really hoped this first impression was wrong. Jennifer seemed to really care for this man and for her he would give Rodney a second chance.

"Thank you," she smiled. "I am going to check on Rodney now." Jennifer moved to hug her father, "See you later." She kissed his cheek and headed upstairs, stopping to grab her bags.

After Jennifer had left, Scott turned to Jeannie, "Your brother said something else. Who is Sheppard? And why would he think I was him?"

Jeannie smiled and chuckled, "John Sheppard is someone Mer and Jennifer work with and he is also my brother's best friend. There is a slight resemblance between you two."

He nodded, "Makes sense in some odd way."

"I know Mer can be awkward at times, but he really does love Jennifer. Please don't let what happened effect what you think of him."

Scott nodded, "I won't. It is obvious my daughter cares for him and I am sure he is not his self after what happened earlier." He only said that to be nice to Jeannie.

* * *

Jennifer did not have a hard time figuring out which room was Rodney's as it was the only one with a light on. She quietly opened the door and frowned at the state Rodney's back and arms were in. It was one of the worst case of hives she had seen in a long time. Keller had to smile as he struggled to apply the Benadryl gel to his back as his face was buried in the pillow. She walked over to the bed and leaned forward, "You need help with that?" She asked, playing with the short hairs on the back of his neck.

Rodney's body stiffen as he heard the voice. _What is she doing here? I'm going to kill Jeannie. _He turned his head so he could look at her. A small smile cracked his lips, "What are you doing here?"

She frowned at his reaction, "Checking on you." She said matter-of-factly.

"I told Jeannie not to call you," he matched her frown. She did not want her to miss time with her father because of him.

"She didn't. She picked up_ your phone_ after the fourth time I tried calling you."

"Oh..."

"Yeah, oh." Jennifer reached for the bottle of anti-itch gel. "Did you think that I wouldn't worry after you didn't respond to my calls or texts?" It was his fault for setting a precedent about not being out of contact for long. "Sit up so I can do this."

Rodney closed his eyes as he felt her hair tickle his back and then did as he was told, "I didn't think. I did not want to worry you." He sighed as Jennifer rubbed the gel on his back. It was feeling better, but he was not sure if it was from the gel or from her.

"And that is exactly what you did," Jennifer rested her chin on his shoulder. "Being rushed to the emergency room is a reason to call me." She placed a soft kiss on his temple, "Don't scare me like that again."

He turned so he could face Jennifer. Rodney could see her face full of worry and he realized just how worried she really was. It was a look he was not used to seeing. "I'm fine. I really am," he caressed her cheek with the back of his hand and rested his forehead against hers, "But I cannot promise not to scare you. You know my team's tendency to run into trouble on missions. You know how John and Ronan are. I never cause trouble," he was trying to keep a straight face but it was difficult.

Jennifer laughed, "That's a good one." She slid back as to get a better look at Rodney, "You really are okay, right? We aren't going to have to rush you back to the emergency room are we?"

Rodney smirked, "Jennifer, you are a doctor. You know they would not have released me if I wasn't fine." The concerned girlfriend behavior was touching. "As long as you have been citrus-free for the past twenty-four hours I will be fine."

"I know I'm a doctor, but when it comes to you..."

"What about when it comes me?" Rodney asked with a slight smirk. He wanted to hear her answer.

Jennifer started to get flustered, "Because I plan on keeping you around for a while. What if this doctor was a moron? What if they missed something? They don't have your complete medical history. You know what happens when people do things half-assed," she started to get worked up. Jennifer was not prone to outbursts like this, but her worry from earlier and being over exhausted was starting to take its toll.

Rodney started to laugh as he had never seen this side of her before, "Now where are you picking up that attitude?" He thought she sounded like him when someone on his staff screwed up.

"Funny," she lightly poked Rodney in the chest. "I got it from this guy I am crazy about, even if he scared me half to death earlier."

"Come on," his voice raised several octaves. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to ruin your time with your dad and that is exactly what I did. You came here to check on me, leaving him in Chippewa Falls. All because some moron at the restaurant put lime in the steak. I told him five times that there should be no lime." Rodney raised his hand and held up five fingers to show his point, "I told him I was allergic but do you think he listening…No he was too busy checking out the hostess's ass. Then I had to leave my coat in the car where I had put my Epi-pen. Luckily the car was parked outside the restaurant or else it could have been worse. I could have died…but I shouldn't be telling you that. You know what? You can go back tomorrow now that you see I am fine. You should enjoy the rest of the time with your dad and I will see you in a few days and then we are off to Vegas."

Jennifer listened to his rambling, smirking and shaking her head, "Are you done?" She leaned in and quickly kissed him. "Let's get some sleep and you can meet my dad when we wake up."

"When we wake up?" Rodney asked, interested in what she meant by the comment. He started to snap his fingers as he realized something. "Oh, don't tell me," his face fell as he recalled his encounter on the way to the bathroom.

"I'm afraid so," Jennifer cradled Rodney's face between her hands. "It will be alright."

He looked at her like she had three heads, "Are you kidding me? He had to tell you what I said. First I thought it as Sheppard pulling one of his stunts then I insinuated he was here to sleep with my sister. How can that be alright?" Rodney looked terrified. It was not the kind of first impression he had wanted to make on Jennifer's father.

"My poor genius," she smiled at him.

Rodney was pouting, "I am so glad that you find this so amusing. Your father is never going to like me after that conversation."

Jennifer shook her head, "I asked him not to take your conversation too seriously. He knows you are not feeling well."

"And that is going to work?" he asked. Rodney was skeptical of her assertion.

"Rodney, stop worrying," she looked at him in the eyes. Jennifer swore she could stare into them all day. They were easy to get lost in, trying to figure what was going on in that remarkable mind of his. She could see the worry in them, "I love you. Trust me when I say it is going to be okay."

"You sure?" Rodney asked feeling unsure about this.

"I'm positive." Jennifer kissed him, her tongue seeking his.

Rodney deepened the kiss, pulling away a couple minutes later. His breathing ragged, "We should stop." He really did not want to, but he was exhausted and imagined she was too.

Jennifer sighed as she caught her breath, "Too tired."

"I know," he pouted. "Do you need something to change into?"

She shook her head, "Brought my bag with me. Still have that shirt of yours I _borrowed_."

"Something tells me I am not getting that shirt back," Rodney smiled. "You are staying here...with me?"

"Where else would I stay?" Jennifer said as she started to remove her clothes. "Close your eyes," she stopped short of removing her sweater.

"What? Really?" A look from the woman meant business and Rodney obeyed.

She quickly shed her bra and panties, throwing the t-shirt on before crawling into bed, "You can open them now." She kissed Rodney's cheek before putting her head down on a pillow.

"I think I can get used to this," Rodney draped his arm over Jennifer's waist and pulled her closer.

"Used to what?" Jennifer asked, sliding her head to his shoulder.

"Sharing a bed with a beautiful woman."

She smiled at his words. No one had ever called her beautiful before him. Other men had called her: cute, adorable, pretty, attractive and sexy (but in a demeaning way). None those words sounded as wonderful as Rodney calling her beautiful, "Just going to have to get used to it." She was absent-mindedly drawing circles over his chest. "This is not bothering you, right? Your arms and back are okay?"

Rodney nodded, "They are fine." He was not sure if it was from the Benadryl or if having Jennifer in his arms took his mind off the itchiness. "Sweet dreams," he whispered before shutting off the light

_With you here, they will be._

* * *

It was almost ten in the morning and Madison had grown tired of waiting for her uncle to wake up. Her mother had said the he needed his rest, but she did not want to listen. The child frowned when she opened the door and saw that Rodney was not alone. She went over to the side of the bed where he was, "Uncle Rodney it is time to wake up." She prodded his shoulder.

Jennifer was awoken by the voice, but Rodney was not as was evident from the soft snores coming from him. She sighed as the sleepy fog lifted from her brain and realized how far up her inner thigh his hand was resting. _Could have been an interesting morning if his niece was not trying to wake Rodney up._ She was glad the blanket was covering them so Madison was not getting a show she should not be seeing. Jennifer pushed Rodney's hand away and poked his stomach, "Wake up. You have company."

Rodney groaned as his sleep was disturbed, "What?" He opened his eyes and the grumpy mood lifted at the site before him, "Hey." He felt the finger poking his shoulder, "What is it, Madison?" Rodney rolled onto his back to look at his niece.

"I wanted to see if you were okay. You were sick yesterday. Are you going to be okay?" the girl asked. She had been very worried last night but had fallen asleep before they got home.

He smiled, "I will be fine. Thank you for worrying."

Madison looked at Jennifer and made a disgusted face, "Is she your girlfriend?"

Rodney was not happy with the look Madison was giving Jennifer, "Yes. This is Jennifer."

Jennifer wondered what the face was all about, "Nice to meet you Madison."

The girl frowned, "Are you going to take my uncle from me?"

"What?" Jennifer looked to Rodney for help.

Rodney returned the look, "I'm not going anywhere for a few more days. Then I go back to work," he thought that is what she was talking about.

"You told mom you were going on a trip," Madison countered.

He did not appreciate being questioned by a six year old. "I think your mother is calling you," Rodney said wanting her gone for now. "We will talk about this later."

Jennifer kicked Rodney under the covers, shooting him a look that told him to behave.

"Ouch," he rubbed his leg. "What did you do that for?"

Madison crossed her arms over his chest, "We need to have a serious talk later." She pointed her finger at Rodney and then left the room.

"What did you do that for?" Rodney pouted. He thought he would get an answer now that Madison was gone.

"You shouldn't have lied," she pointed out about the going back to work part.

He rolled his eyes, "And I think if I told her the truth about Vegas Jeannie would kill me."

"Good point," Jennifer laughed. He had no idea of the items she had bought for their amusement. "We should get dressed and head downstairs."

"Time to face the music," Rodney frowned. "Your father isn't going to murder me or anything like that, right? He doesn't have any training like that, does he?"

She slapped his shoulder, "He's an accountant. Your life is safe. Now stop stalling."

* * *

Rodney spent the better part of the day avoiding everyone using the excuse that he still was not feeling too well. Jennifer was beyond annoyed at him, but he was scared to face Scott. This was the first time he was meeting the father of someone he was dating. Rodney was worried that if Scott did not like him that it would be the end of him and Jennifer. That thought scared him even more than an impending attack by a dozen hive ships.

Rodney had been feverishly working at his laptop for close to an hour on some modifications for a wormhole drive when he realized everyone had left except for Jennifer's father who was watching _Wormhole X-treme._ The show had almost a small cult following on Atlantis and many joked that an Atlantis version of the show should be done. A low grumble from his stomach told him that it was time to eat and he headed to the kitchen to see if there was anything he would actually eat.

Scott heard the other man get up and wondered what he could have been working on so intently that he did not notice everyone else leave. He was told by Jennifer not to disturb Rodney when he was working, adding that Rodney would probably not notice any attempts at communication. Scott walked over to the laptop and tried to look at what the physicist had been working on. Nothing made sense to him, but he had only taken two semesters of physics almost thirty years ago and remembered nothing of what he learned. He only could conclude that it had be very advanced stuff.

There was nothing interesting in the kitchen and Rodney was about to call for takeout he saw a note from Jeannie, letting him know there was jello in the back of the refrigerator. He grabbed the bowl from the fridge and headed back to his computer. McKay froze when he saw Scott looked at his laptop. He wanted to say something, but the spoon in his mouth prevented him from doing so. It looked like they were about to have the conversation he had been avoiding all day.

Scott jumped when Rodney returned. Now it was his turn to make a bad impression, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean," he wanted to get an insight as to what he was about.

Rodney wanted to be mad, but he kept his temper in check. He was running a mental rant as if he going off on one of his staff for a screw up. "It's fine." He removed the spoon from his mouth. _I can't screw this up or Jennifer is going to hate me. Don't be yourself. _"Do you need to use my laptop?"

"No. It looks like you were working on some important things. Not that I understand any of it."

"It is just some theoretical ideas I've been working on," Rodney explained. Even if Scott could understand his work he could not discuss it. He sighed and looked away, feeling nervous again. "I am sorry about earlier...upstairs by the bathroom." _Deep breaths McKay. You can do this._

Scott nodded, "Don't worry about it." He was doing this for Jennifer and this conversation would make or break what he would think of this man. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes. This isn't the first time I've had a reaction like this," he said simply. "Is there anything I can get you. I know my sister doesn't have much in the way of edible food here. The whole vegetarian thing." _Great, keep the babbling to a minimum. _

Scott had to agree. There had not been a big selection of food he was interested in. His eyes went wide when he saw the size of the bowl Rodney was holding. _Is he going to eat all that?_ "I'm not that hungry."

"Do you want some of my jello?" Rodney offered. _Keep with the small talk. At least he knows not to ask about the job._

"Not a fan of it," he declined the offer. Scott jerked his head back to the television, "What do you think of this show from a scientific standpoint?"

_He did not just ask that. _"What show is that?" Rodney pretended to not recognize the show.

"Wormhole X-Extreme."

"Never heard of it," McKay kept a straight face. _I am not going to tell him that I know the people those characters are based on and the woman was the one who helped arrange for your plane here._

Scott frowned, "Do you not get television were you work?"

"No. We get movies and video games," Rodney shook his head. _Don't get television signals in another galaxy._

The elder Keller was quite curious about the place they worked if they did not have telephones or television. Scott was growing tired of the small talk. It was obvious that Jennifer was serious about her relationship with Rodney or she would not have rushed here when she found out he was in the emergency room. That was not something you do in a casual relationship. _Time to pull the band-aid off. _"How long have you been dating my daughter?"

The question made Rodney swallow hard, knowing he could not tell him that they had only be officially dating for less than a week, "Um...um...three months." It was not a total lie as it was three months that one could say they began to unofficially date. That is when the couple started spending most of the free time with each other.

_Three months? How come Jen never mention that before?_ Scott wondered why the other man stuttered before answering the question, "Are you serious about this relationship?"

Rodney knew this was going to be like an inquisition, probably not unlike the one his team faced recently. This time he knew he had to take it and answer what he was asked if he had any hope for a future with Jennifer, "Yes, very serious," he was battling himself to keep from rambling. It scared him that one man could make him his nervous. Rodney thought facing a wraith queen would be easier than this.

Scott could not forget that Jennifer had mislead him about Rodney. There had to be something she was hiding. There was an obvious age difference and he was curious at just how much, "How old are you?"

His face fell. _Oh great, he thinks I am too old for her._ This is not good. "Forty." _He thinks I am just a dirty old who is after his young daughter.  
_  
The father found that interesting and wondered what his daughter saw in an older man, "Have you been married before?" Scott assumed that a man his age had to have been married at least once.

"No," Rodney wondered what that had to do with anything. He did not like where these questions were going. _As long as I don't have to bring up Katie_. "Had not met the right person before."

The last line did not escape Scott's attention. _Before? What does that mean for now_? "Tell me Rodney, why are you with my daughter?"

Rodney look at the other man like he was crazy, "Because I love Jennifer. I've never met anyone like her before. You have an amazing daughter, Mr. Keller." His face lit up as he started to talk about her.

That was a look Scott knew well. It was the same look he had when he talked about this wife when they started dating. "You love her? Is that all?"

Rodney looked panic stricken, "What else could there be?" He could feel his chest start to tighten and his breath catch in his throat. "What do you want me to say?" McKay knew the dam of babbling was about to break and he would not be able to stop it. His face was starting to turn red. _Keep your cool. Don't yell at him. He is just protective of his daughter. Would you want someone like you dating your daughter? Shut up. I didn't ask you.  
_  
Scott knew he had agitated the other man. It was not what he had expected, but he wanted to see what made Rodney tick, "I want to know what is on your mind."

The physicist laughed manically, "I don't think you do... Oh no, I didn't meant it that way. I did not mean to imply anything." Rodney froze for a moment. _Great, now he things you are some pervert. Take a deep breath._ He paused for a moment, "I am not good with this stuff...people and such. Ask me to fix something or to save the day I can do that no problem. Ask me a question like that and I do not know how to answer." Rodney started to pace nervously, "All of this is new to me. I've never felt this way about someone before. We were friends for two years, but I knew there was something different. I never thought someone like Jennifer would go for me. I'm not usually wrong, but this is one time I am glad I was. I know I would do anything for her. I would die for her. I cannot imagine my life without Jennifer. I want to spend the rest of my life with her." Rodney was finally able to take a breath. He had not planned on pouring his emotions out like that, but once he started there was no stopping it. _Now I sound like an official lunatic._

Scott's eyes went wide at the admissions. None of Jennifer's other boyfriends had been so free with their feelings before, but he had a feeling his mouth was moving faster than his mind could process. Scott had witnessed it earlier this morning and feared this was a pattern. It was clear that the man in front of him genuinely cared for his daughter. He had been rendered speechless and was trying to process that Rodney had told him he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Jennifer. _Was that his way of asking me if he could marry my daughter?_

Rodney took the silence as a bad sign, "Oh, I said too much." He was mentally kicking himself. _You don't know when to shut up, McKay. You've_ _made yourself out to be a mental patient. Jennifer is going to kill me._ "I'm not crazy...really. Just when I get nervous...Yeah I'm just going to shut up now." Rodney made a zip motion over his lips. "I'm just going to go," he made a gesture to his computer. _Go and hide. _Rodney grabbed his laptop and bowl of jello before heading to the backyard.

Scott shook his head as he watch Rodney gather his belongings and run off to the backyard without a coat. He thought it was a little too cold to be outside in a t-shirt without a coat. _Very odd man. _The man sat on the couch, absorbing what just happened. Rodney did not seem like a bad person, he was just a little different. If Jennifer wanted to be with this man he was not going to stop her, but he did want to get to know him better before they left for Las Vegas.


	5. Day 5

**Rating: **T

**Spoilers: **Season Five: Takes place after Brain Storm

**A/N: **Please leave a review.

Day 5- Cookies

Jennifer was walking around downtown Vancouver with her father when his silence finally got to her, "Okay, out with it dad. Why are you being so quiet?" Both her father and Rodney had been very quiet since last night and neither wanted to talk about their conversation. She was still very annoyed with her boyfriend, bordering on angry.

Scott looked over his daughter and shrugged, "Just thinking." He had been debating if he should confront Rodney if he meant what he said about wanting to spend the rest of his life with Jennifer. It was difficult to come to terms that his little girl was all grown up and had someone interested in marrying her.

"About what?" she asked curiously. There was a hint of annoyance in her voice. Rodney had the same attitude last night and this morning.

The father shrugged, "Nothing in particular."

Jennifer raised her eye brows. She was not happy with that response, "What happened between you and Rodney yesterday? Neither of you will tell me."

"We talked," Scott shrugged. "I asked some questions and he answered. He talked and talked."

She frowned, "You don't like him, don't you?" This is what she was scared of and it explained why Rodney was quiet.

"I didn't say that," he pointed out. "I'll admit I had some reservations about him. He is a little older than I expected."

Jennifer crossed her arms over her chest, "That is what the problem is? He is not some pervert who is with me because someone younger showed interest in him." Her face started to get red with anger.

Scott wondered where this anger was coming from, "Jen, calm down. What's wrong? I did not say I didn't like Rodney. It is just he is a little odd."

The doctor started to laugh, "Is that all? I could have told you that. It is part of Rodney's charm. He is really amazing when you get to know him." _You should see him work or the look on his face when he gets an idea._

The father put his arm over his daughter's shoulder and smiled, "If there is one thing that was clear from his rambling yesterday; it was that he would do anything for you and he loves you very much. It was genuine and not someone just telling me what I wanted to hear. How can I dislike someone like that?" Scott said with a sincere smile.

"Thanks, dad," Jennifer said, feeling better that he said that. "Rodney thinks you hate him."

"Did he say that?"

She shook her head, "He didn't say much of anything when I got back last night."

"If he did not run off to the yard I could have finished the conversation," Scott said simply.

_And that is why I am still annoyed with him and I kneed him in the backside several times while he slept. _"Why didn't you go after him, then?" Jennifer asked.

"I had to think about something Rodney said," he replied. Scott hoped Rodney was serious about marrying Jennifer. He wondered if she had thoughts of marriage as well before he confronted Rodney, "Do you see yourself marrying him?"

The question took Jennifer by surprise, "What? Why would you ask that?" _And what did Rodney say that you had to think on? Did he say anything about marriage?_

"We came here for one. Then there is the way he talks about you and you about him," he pointed out. "It reminds me of how I used to be with your mom."

"Really?" Jennifer asked surprised. Now she was really curious what Rodney said to get her father to think that.

"Yes," Scott smiled sadly. "Are you happy, Jen?"

The daughter nodded, "I am. Work can get pretty crazy and having Rodney makes it a little less crazy."

Scott knew he would never get any true answer of what kind of work she did, "That's all that matters. If he hurts you I will break both his legs."

"I am not fifteen anymore, dad. I can take care of myself."

"I know," he smiled. "That won't stop me from hurting him if he messes up."

_Just don't say that to Rodney. _She knew those words would freak him out, "You can have him after I'm done with him if and only if it comes to that, but it won't." Jennifer said with a smile as she knew it would never come to that.

"Just don't get married while you two are in Vegas. I want to be there when you get married." Scott gave his daughter a wink.

"Not funny," Jennifer's jaw dropped. "That is not why we are going to Vegas." She wondered why people had to make comments about getting married in Vegas.

"It better not be," he grinned. "What do you say to a late breakfast?"

"It's not. Rodney wants to try out some probability theories he has been working on. Breakfast sounds like a great idea," she was relieved that her father liked Rodney. Now if she could only get him to see that.

* * *

Rodney was sitting on the couch, reading the latest issue of Batman when the comic was pulled from his hand, "Hey what gives?"

Madison stood with her hands on her hips, "Time for the talk. You were avoiding me yesterday."

_I was avoiding everyone._ "Where is your mother?" he asked, looking to see where Jeannie was.

"She went out with dad."

Rodney frowned, "We are here alone?" That was a scary thought since there was no one to protect him from the questions that were about to come.

"Yup," Madison said with a grin. The girl grabbed her uncle's arm and pulled him off the couch.

"Where are you taking me?" He looked around the living room, "I was enjoying my comic book. Give it back."

"Outside. I want to you to push me on the swings," the girl frowned. "You are supposed to say please. Didn't your mom teach you that?"

Rodney had been patient and let some of Madison's behavior slide, but after yesterday he was not in the mood to deal with it, "She did not teach me anything. She hated me." There was no holding his tongue today. "And you can ask me to take you outside. You shouldn't demand it. Didn't my sister teach you that?" He grabbed the comic book from the girl's hand and fell back onto the couch, "I am not some toy that you pull around as you please. Just ask. Don't demand. You've been mean to my girlfriend. Why should I listen to you?" Rodney knew he was acting like a child and that he would hear it Jeannie about yelling at Madison. _I'm in a bad mood. Jennifer's father hates me. Jennifer is mad at me and now I have a child bossing me around._

Madison did not expect that reaction from her uncle since he never yelled at her before. She stood still with her bottom lip quivering and tears filled her eyes, "I...I didn't mean to. Why are you being so mean?"

_Why do they have to cry? I hate when they cry._ _Now Jeannie is going to be mad at me._ "Look...Look don't cry. I didn't mean to yell... Okay I did mean to yell, but come on no crying. Please just stop. Here you can have my comic," he tried to give Madison the book. Rodney did not know how to deal with crying females. There was a look of panic on his face. _This is so not good. See I am not good with kids._

"I don't want it," the girl pouted and wiped the tears from her cheeks. "You're mean."

"You started it," Rodney made a face. The fight was very reminiscent of arguments he had with Sheppard with the exception he was having this argument with an actual child.

"Did not!" Madison yelled, stamping her foot.

"Uh, did so," he stood up to look down upon the girl. Rodney pointed his finger at Madison and frowned, "Why have you been mean to Jennifer?"

She cocked her head and looked up, "Because I don't like her."

"Too bad because I like her very very very much and nothing is going to change that. Why don't you like her?" He was curious what his niece had against Jennifer. The two did not have any conversations as far as he knew. Trying to understand people was difficult for the physicist, but kids were so much harder as they changed their minds as much as they changed underwear.

Madison scrunched up her face as she was trying to think of an answer, but nothing was coming to her.

"Don't have a reason, do you?"

Madison shook her head, "Not really. Why are you going away with her next week? Mom said you were going to be here for two weeks."

That is when Rodney saw it, she was upset that he was not going to be here for the two weeks and Jennifer was the one taking him away. "Because we want to," the adult did not feel he had to explain more. _At least she stopped crying._

The child wondered why adults never gave her the answers she was looking for. She pouted and her leg shook in impatience, "Fine." The annoyance was clear and Madison knew she would not get anything else from him, "Can we bake cookies?"

"Huh?" Rodney asked unsure if he heard her correctly. He did not know the first thing about how to make them. The man was confused at the sudden attitude change and was not sure if it was a female or a kid thing. "I don't know how to make them until you have that stuff you just cut and just put in the oven."

"What is that?" Madison looked confused.

"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?" he frowned.

"No," she shook her head. "Haven't you ever made cookies for yourself?"

Rodney nodded, "But the dough was already made and sometimes I did not even cook it."

"You are not supposed to do that. You can get sick," the girl lightly admonished her uncle.

"I never got sick before," Rodney shrugged. "Do you know how to make the dough?" Something told him he might regret this.

Madison nodded, "And since you are here we can use the oven." She was glad her uncle was in a better mood. The girl had heard about his bad moods when she overheard her parents talking.

_Looks I am going to have to do this. How hard could it be? Training for the future. _"Does your mother have the ingredients to make cookies?"

The girl nodded emphatically, "We always do."

_Oh, joy. _Rodney followed his niece into the kitchen silently. Part of him was doing this so Madison would not tell her mother he made her cry. The last thing he wanted was another person mad at him, "What do we do?"

"Put this on," Madison picked a pink apron off the hook.

"No...no...no. I am not putting that on," he shook his head. There was no way he would be caught dead wearing that.

"You clothes will get dirty. Mom doesn't like when that happens."

Rodney rolled his eyes, "Uh, I can wash my own clothes. Let's get started."

An hour later two dozen cookies were baked and they looked halfway edible. Madison followed Rodney around to make sure he cleaned up everything, "Now it is tap time. Do you still take naps?"

Madison shook her head, "I'm six. I don't need one."

The scientist made a face, "I'm a lot older and I need one. So take one today." Rodney needed a nap since he did not get much sleep the night before because he kept on getting kneed in the backside. He did not understand that if Jennifer wanted to talk last night why did she not say anything instead of resorting to being a pain in the ass, literally.

"Do I have to?" the girl pouted.

"Yes...or just stay in your room. Just stay out of trouble. I don't need to get into anymore trouble." Rodney made sure his niece went to her room before heading to his. He pulled off his socks before falling onto the middle of the bed, "All mine." His head hit the pillow and he was asleep shortly afterward. _Just an hour or two will do._

* * *

Jennifer let herself and Scott into the house with the keys Rodney gave her earlier. The house was quiet and the smell of baked cookies was in the air, "Looks like they went out." There were no cars in the driveway and the lights were off.

"Smells like someone baked," Scott headed off to the kitchen where the smell was emanating from and picked up one of the cookies. He was a little skeptical to try it as they looked a little undercooked and he was right. He tossed the remainder of his cookie into the garbage.  
"A little raw. Where did everyone go?"

Jennifer shrugged her shoulders, "No idea." There was no note and she checked her phone to see if there was a text from Rodney, but there was none.

He found that a little odd and wondered if something happened between the two. Jennifer mentioned that Rodney had not said much and he thought the two could be in the middle of a fight. Scott was about to ask when a phone with a Batman ringtone went off.

The blonde doctor sighed as she heard the phone, figuring Rodney must have been left behind. Jennifer pick up the phone and the caller ID indicated a message from Sam. _Why is she texting him?_ A small pang of jealousy gnawed at her. She knew that Rodney was past his feelings for the military woman, but part of her was worried. She felt bad from treating him terribly earlier and thought he might have fallen back on old habits.

"What's wrong?" Scott noticed the look on his daughter's face. "Whose phone is that?" he knew he did not have to ask. He wondered if he was going to have to make good on his threat already.

"Nothing," she shook her head. "Rodney left his phone." Jennifer rubbed the back of neck, feeling a headache coming on.

The father was not convinced that all was well, "What is it? Am I going to have to hurt him?"

"No, dad. I have a headache, that's all. I'm going to lie down for a while."

Scott was concerned, "Are you sure?"

Jennifer nodded, "Just need a nap." She headed upstairs to the room she was sharing, still carrying Rodney's phone. The woman was not expecting her boyfriend to be asleep on the bed and he was taking up most of the free space. She kicked off her shoes and leaned over to whisper, "Don't hog the whole bed."

Rodney flinched on reflex. He was not in the mood to be yelled at, which he assumed that she was about to do. Grabbing his pillow, the groggy man started to move to the floor.

"Where are you going?" Jennifer was confused by his actions.

Rodney yawned, but did not open his eyes. "I want to get some sleep and not have a knee up my ass."

She grabbed the back of his shirt. Her head was starting to pound and she was not in the mood to play games, "I'm not going to knee you, Rodney. "

"Are you going to yell at me?" McKay fell back on the bed, his eyes finally opening. The man knew he had been childish by not talking last night, but he did not want to see the disappointment on her face when he told her that he messed everything up with her father.

Jennifer shook her head, "No. Why would I yell you?" she asked confused as she sat next to him.

Rodney's eyes went wide, "Because I was a jerk and I totally screwed things with your father and he thinks I am some kind of deranged dirty old man who preys on innocent young women. Now you are mad at me for screwing it up. Madison was mad at me because I yelled at her. She hates you for no reason. Jeannie is going to be mad because I made Madison cry. I cannot do anything right," he sat up and crossed his arms over his chest. "I never care what people think of me, but I wanted your father to like me and since I could not keep my mouth shut I screwed everything up. I was telling myself that I should just keep quiet, but once I started talking I couldn't stop. Someone should have been there..." Rodney was distracted by Jennifer resting her head on his shoulder and one of her hands sliding into his. "Woah...wait...what are you doing?"

She knew better to interrupt one of his rants, knowing he would never hear her over his own voice, "Are you done now?"

"You want me to shut up?" McKay said, feeling a little deflated.

Jennifer nodded, "I would like to get a word in." She snuggled her face against his shoulder, sighing contently that the lingering smell of freshly baked cookies was on his shirt.

"Do I smell or something? I took a shower this morning." Rodney frowned.

"Just like cookies," she said with a smile. Jennifer dropped his phone into his lap. "You left it on the couch," she said with a small frown, wondering what he would make of the text from Sam.

Rodney looked between the phone and his girlfriend. _What's that look for?_ He flipped open the phone and smirked as he read the message:

_McKay, _

_Heard you had a little trip to the hospital already. Can you go for any length of time without requiring medical treatment? Don't go dying on us when the rest of us are not there. Sam tells me Keller flew up to Vancouver to check on you. Does this mean she is your girlfriend now? I'm sure she taking __**real good care**__ of you if that is the case. Say hello to the good doctor for me. Feel better and come back to us in one piece. See you when you get back. Bring back as many back issues of Batman & Superman comics you can. The ones here are getting boring. _

_Sheppard_

"Sheppard says hello," he handed the phone over so she could read the message, "He couldn't resist, could he?"

The physician took the phone and started to read the message. They were more like ten year old boys instead of grown men when it came to each other. Jennifer was relieved that the message had come from his partner in crime and she felt silly for getting jealous. The sentiments of the message were sweet in a way that the two were with each other.

"There was a scheduled dial-in today. He had to find out what happen and had to ask Sam to forward that message," he shook his head.

Jennifer held the phone close as she got an idea, "If I reply to the message will it be forwarded to John on the next scheduled dial- in?" There was a mischievous grin on her face.

Rodney did not like that grin and wondered what she was up to, "Yeah, why?"

"No reason," the grin on her face grew. "Sheppard. I have borrowed Rodney's phone. Yes, I am taking good care of him. I will try to bring him back in one piece, but I cannot make any promises. We both have a bit of a wild side. You should see the bite..." She said as she typed on the phone.

"You are not sending that to him," there was a look of horror on his face. "You send that and he will never let me live it down." Rodney went to grab the phone and missed as she pulled it away.

Jennifer hid the phone behind her back, knowing he would eventually make a grab for it. "Maybe it will make him jealous," she thought he could use a little ego boost. "You are here having fun and he is there, working and having no fun." Jennifer reached out to touch his stubbled cheek. _Someone did not shave this morning._

"Can I have my phone back?" He turned his face toward her hand. "Please," Rodney started to place kisses starting at her wrist and stopped at her neck, knowing the stubble would tickle. _She did say I was supposed to be having fun._

"Hey, stop that," she laughed. "What are you doing?" Jennifer asked as felt his hands on her waist. She was having a difficult time concentrating with what Rodney's tongue and stubble on her neck were doing to her brain.

"Ha, got it." Rodney pulled away with his cell phone in hand. There was a look of great satisfaction on his face, "Let's see."

Jennifer pouted as he pulled away, "Ugh. You... " She started to regain her senses. The man was intoxicating to be around and he already knew which buttons to press to drive her crazy. That smug smirk of his was both attractive and frustrating.

Opening the phone, Rodney looked for the message she sent, but he did not find anything, "You didn't send anything?"

She shook her head, "Check the drafts folder."

"What? Why?" he started to question, but a smiled formed as he read the message in drafts. It was addressed to him.

_Stop being paranoid, my sexy one. My father does not hate you and I love you with all my heart._

"He doesn't?" Rodney held up the phone. This was news to him as he was sure he had made a disaster of everything yesterday.

Jennifer smiled and reached for his hands, "No. Whatever you did say yesterday you did make it clear that you love me and would do anything for me."

Rodney shrugged, "That is because I do and I would."

"And that is all he wanted to hear," she squeezed his hands. "And as long as you keep doing those things then there will be no problems."

He smirked, "Is that all?"

"That's all."

"Then there will be no problems," his mood was much better than it was earlier. "Loving you is something I am never going to stop doing."

"Same goes for me," Jennifer matched his smile.


	6. Day 6

**Rating: **T

**Spoilers: **Season Five: Takes place after Brain Storm

**A/N: **Please leave a review.

Day 6- Arguments

Jeannie just had a very enlightening conversation with her daughter about yesterday's events and she was now looking for her brother to have a _discussion_ with him on the finer points of babysitting and what not to say to children. She found him in the cellar, working on something, "Hiding? Doing work?"

Rodney was startled by the sudden appearance of his sister, "Don't sneak up on me like that." He pointed at her, "Just planning a special night for Jennifer in Vegas. Only hiding because it's a surprise." He purchased two tickets for Zumanity and made reservations for a romantic dinner.

"How nice of you," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I just had a little talk with Madison and she told me what happened yesterday." Jeannie crossed her arms over chest.

"Oh," his face fell. "Listen, she was bossing me around and I had to put her in her place. Did you not teach her manners?"

Now the woman was even angrier, "Yes, I taught my daughter manners. What were you thinking?"

"That I should not have to be bossed around by a six year old." Rodney raised his eyebrow. "Just because I am not around often doesn't mean she can have carte blanche on what she does to me."

Jeannie sighed, "You really are dense. You don't leave a child alone when you take a nap when you are a heavy sleeper."

"You don't?" he asked confused. "I was left alone all the time when I was her age. Look how I turned out."

"My point exactly because you turned out so well, Meredith."

"Hey!" Rodney was offended. "It's not like you told me that you were leaving me with her in the first place," he was trying to take the blame off of himself.

Jeannie sighed, "I did tell you. You were on the couch, reading that comic of yours."

"That is where you went wrong. I wasn't paying attention," he shook his finger. "And besides Jennifer and her father came home about a half hour later."

"Not the point. They didn't know she was in her room and Jennifer was with you. I recall you two coming down the stairs together a few hours later. You are lucky when Maddie came downstairs Scott was there. And don't you dare put this on me," she did not care if she was being hard on him.

"I told Madison to stay in her room. Nothing happened. I don't see what the big deal is. It is not as if I left the house. I was in my room the whole time."

Jeannie sighed, feeling very frustrated with her brother, "In your room, having sex with your girlfriend."

Rodney sighed, "We were not having sex. Jennifer had a headache, I helped her get rid of it and then we fell asleep." _We waited until everyone was asleep later before doing that. _"Look. I'm sorry. Leave a list next time. The dos and do nots of babysitting. Just because I delivered one baby, it does not mean I know what to do with them."

"A list?" she asked, wanting to be sure she heard him right. "Use common sense."

"I don't have the best experience to go on," he sneered.

"Which brings me to the other reason I needed to talk to you," Jeannie let her temper flare. "Why did you tell Madison, mom hated you?"

Rodney made a face, "Because she did."

"But you don't say that to a child," Jeannie sighed. She was ready to slap him upside the head.

Rodney pouted and crossed his arms over his chest, "Then what would you have me say? She was annoying me yesterday and I was in a bad mood."

She had enough and punched her brother's shoulder, "What about when you have children? Are you going to be like that with them?"

"No. They won't ask stupid questions," he rubbed his arm.

"And what _stupid _question set you off?" Jeannie raised her voice a notch. She swore that her brother could be such a child at times.

Rodney raised his hands, "I am not going have this out with you. You will defend that woman to the death, but I am not going to have any of it." His voice was on the verge of yelling.

"She does not hate you, Mer," she wished she could get through him on the subject of their mother, but he was too stubborn when it came to her.

"Oh, so she is still alive. How good for her," the stubborn man rolled his eyes.

"She's only fifty-seven. Yes, she is still alive. I talked to her last month."

Scott was in the kitchen when heard the voice from downstairs and tried to move away from it, but he could still hear them from the living room. He did not want to eavesdrop, but their voices were carrying.

"And so?" Rodney's voice cracked. "I last talked to her...oh, it has been fifteen years now. I think the last thing she said to me was that I ruined her life. She's the one who decided to have a child at seventeen. " Deep down part of him knew the harsh words tossed around in that fight were said out of anger, but the funny thing about those kind of words were that they usually had some seed of truth to them.

"Don't be so dramatic, Meredith." Jeannie hated when he talked like that.

He snapped his fingers, "Not being dramatic. You were too young to remember anything before we moved to Edmonton. Dad and I only started getting along after she left."

She rubbed her forehead, "I know you got blamed for a lot..."

Rodney interrupted, "Being born, being questioned by the CIA, the move to Edmonton, being a smart ass... okay the smart ass and CIA are my fault, but you know what I don't care. I just don't want to talk about it anymore. Yes, I had a really bad childhood. Picked on at school and picked on at home. You probably ... You know, how did this conversation get turned around from how bad of a babysitter I am to how many ways growing up sucked?"

"You bought it up," Jeannie pointed out.

"Nooooooooooooo," he drew out the word. "Technically it was you when you asked what set me off."

"But you continued it," she countered.

"And now I am stopping it. I want to put that behind me. I am really happy with where my life is now. The kind of job that I never imagined possible. Real friends and not ones that just try to suck up to me. I trust those people with my life and they trust me with theirs and you know that is a big deal for me. Most importantly there is Jennifer. For the first time I can see myself spending the rest of my life with someone."

Jeannie was shocked that he brought up marriage, "But you almost proposed to Katie. You bought the ring and everything."

Rodney rolled his eyes, "I only did that because you put that dumb idea in my head. You said I couldn't do better and I figured it was time to settle, thinking I would never stand a chance... It is a good thing the quarantine lockdown happened. Though when you think about it; I was the one who set up the new quarantine parameters. Maybe my subconscious was telling me something. Then shortly after that we were trapped in a mine."

She was getting angry as Rodney seemed to put the blame of almost proposing on her, "Wait you were trapped in a mine? You never mentioned that before."

McKay waved his hand as if it was no big deal, "About a year ago, with Jennifer and Sam," he held up his hands where was a barely visible scar on his palms, "From rope burn."

Jeannie did not see anything on his hands and she knew that her brother was trying to steer the conversation from the issue at hand, "Don't think I don't know what you are trying to do. Mer, you need to deal with this."

Rodney shook his head, "Deal with what? I've put it behind me. This conversation is over." He slammed shut his laptop, tucking it under his arm before racing up the stairs.

"It's not over," she called up after him.

"Yeah, it is," McKay stopped at the top of the stairs. He turned around and put his laptop on the counter. He rolled his eyes when he heard his sister come up behind him, "Leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you anymore."

Jeannie knew there was no talking to Rodney when he was in stubborn mode. She stood watching her brother's back. He was not moving, knowing she was looking at him. She raised her finger as if she was going to say something, but she thought better of it. His temper was not something she wanted to deal with and she thought it best to leave him to his own misery.

As the frustrated woman left the kitchen she ran into Scott, "Morning." Jeannie kept her head down as to not let her anger show.

Scott had overheard much more than he had expected to and curiosity grew about the job his daughter and Rodney had. It was clear from the conversation that Jeannie knew what they were up to, "Morning." he returned the greeting.

Rodney pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to push back the headache that threatened to make a horrible morning even worse, "Coffee." He went to get a mug from the sink, but then saw the pot was empty. McKay looked on the counter for his sister's car keys, thinking some time out of the house could clear his head.

The elder Keller cleared his throat, "Mind some company?" Scott thought this could the perfect opportunity to talk about his future since Rodney did not want to talk about the past.

The scientist inwardly cringed and wondered if the was a sign on his back that said _Pick on me_. He tightened his grip on the keys and tried to choose his words carefully. Since their conversation the other day, Rodney had made small talk with Scott and now the man wanted to spend time with him. The thought of that made his mouth run dry and his heart rate soar, "Was just going to get some coffee. You are welcome to come."

Scott nodded, "Just let me grab my coat." He hoped their conversation would not be like their one from the other day.

"Great," Rodney looked down at the tile of the kitchen, mentally calculating how many tiny squares covered the floor.

The two men left the house in silence and the silence stayed until their arrival at the cafe.

The physicist repeated pi to twenty decimal places in his head to keep his mind from wandering. Rodney paid for the purchases and followed Scott to one of the free tables.

"Thank you," Scott sat down, nothing that the other man still looked quite nervous. "There is no reason to be nervous."

_Easier said than done._ He wished Jennifer had not been working on her year-end reviews. She had hid herself in their room so they could get done before Vegas. "I...I...I'm not nervous," Rodney actions and stutter said the opposite.

"Not used to this?" Scott hoped to put the other man at ease.

"No, not at all," McKay said with a shy smile. He took a small sip from his cup, "I know we don't get much time to visit family. Two weeks every year and half to be exact." Rodney paused, trying to stop himself from babbling. "I feel bad that you time with Jennifer had to be cut short because of me."

"She was worried about you," the father said. "And from what I heard, rightfully so."

Rodney grimaced, "It looked worse than it was." _Also pales in comparison to what happened a few months ago._ "I've been through worse."

"So, I've heard." Scott frowned.

"You have?"

The older man nodded, "I overheard you talking with your sister and you mentioned being trapped in a mine."

"Oh," Rodney's face fell. He did not realize they had been so loud. "A small accident. Nothing that serious. Some ground gave way. No big deal." _Happens all the time. _He wondered what else Scott had overheard. That thought sent fear through him, causing his leg to shake.

Scott was not sure of that assertion, but he knew not to dwell on it. "There is something I need to ask you," there was no reason to drag this along any further.

"Um, okay," there was a panicked expression on Rodney's face. Experience told him when things were phrased that way nothing good could come from it.

"Do you plan on marrying my daughter?" It had been twice now that Scott had heard him mention wanting to spend the rest of his life with her.

Rodney was taken aback by the question, mainly for his bluntness in asked. "Wait...what? No," he assumed the man was asking about their Vegas trip.

"No?" Scott asked with a frown. "That was not the impression you gave me."

The physicist was lost, "I gave you the impression that Jennifer and I were getting married when we are in Vegas?" That was not something he recalled and something he had told Jeannie that he definitely did not have planned.

Scott shook his head, "I did not mean in Vegas. I was asked about one day in general."

Rodney's eyes grew, "Oh! Then yes. One day I would like to." The words came out before he had time to process what was being suggestion, "That is if you would let me and if Jennifer wants to." He had read that asking a father for his daughter's hand in marriage before asking the woman was the proper thing to do. A genuine smile crossed his lips. It amazed him that he said that so easily.

"As long as you keep Jen happy I have no problem with you marrying her."

"I don't see a problem with that," his grin grew wider, but he had to wonder if Jennifer would say yes. Rodney's mind already went to work on when he should do this; before or after they returned to Atlantis. He thought that if he was going to ask her, he should buy a ring before the return trip. McKay started to drum his fingers on the table, an annoying nervous habit. He would have to ask Kaleb about shopping for ring later. Rodeny did not put any thought into the ring he bought for Katie, but he wanted this one to be special. One of a kind, just like Jennifer.


	7. Day 7

**Rating: **T

**Spoilers: **Season Five: Takes place after Brain Storm

**A/N: **Please leave a review. Thanks to DaniWilder for letting me bounce some idea off of her for the background stuff

**Day 7- Surprises **

Jeannie was playing a board game with Madison in the living room when she heard the doorbell ring. She knew it was too soon the three men to return from the shopping trip that they left for two hours ago, "I'll be right back." Jeannie quickly jogged to the door and opened it, "What are you doing here?" she asked the woman on the other side of the threshold.

"Hello to you too, Jeannie," the woman said. "Aren't you going to invite your mother in?" Lenore McKay asked her daughter.

"Um, sure come in," she moved out of the way to let the woman in. Jeannie was shocked to see her mother. The older woman did not mentioned a visit during their phone call last month and it posed a problem with Rodney being here, "You did not say anything about coming for a visit."

Lenore smiled, "I thought I would surprise you. It has been almost a year since I last visited." There was a familial resemblance between the two woman and the two could easily pass as sisters. "I hope I haven't come at a bad time."

Jeannie made a face, "It is kind of a bad time, mom." She took the coat from her mother's arms and hung it in the closest. "Kaleb and I have some guests that are here a few more nights and there is no room for you." The younger woman avoided mentioning who the guests were, knowing that Lenore would want to talk to her son and that Rodney did not want to have anything to do with her.

"Don't you have the couch that opens up in the cellar? You and Kaleb can stay there until your guests leave," the mother ordered. Lenore felt entitled that she could demand such a thing from her child.

Jeannie clenched her jaw at the request. It was the one side of her mother's personality that she loathed. She wondered that if when her brother found out their mother was staying if he would leave. She remembered that he was supposed to spend a few nights in Wisconsin before Jennifer and Scott arrived, "I will discuss it with Kaleb when he gets back."

"Grandma," Madison smiled when she saw the older woman.

"Hello, sweetheart," Lenore greeted her granddaughter. "You have gotten so big. How is school?"

Madison shrugged and made a face, "School is good, but we have this week off."

Jeannie cut in before anything else was said, "Are you hungry mom? I think we still have some coffee left in the kitchen."

Lenore looked over her daughter and frowned. She knew that Jeannie was hiding something and she was going to figure out what it is, "I could use a little coffee. The coffee on my flight tasted like tar." She followed her daughter to the kitchen, looking at the mess the living room was with toys._ Never allowed this many toys in my house._

Jeannie pulled two mugs out of the drain and started to pour coffee into both. It was nagging her the woman was here, especially since she had it out with Rodney yesterday and the two were not talking after their fight. "Do you want milk or creamer?"

"Milk is fine," the mother took a seat at the counter, seeing a laptop tucked into the corner. "You leave this here?"

She turned to see what her mother was talking about, "Not mine." She recognized it as the laptop her brother was using yesterday. The small talk was getting on her nerves and she knew there was a deeper reason the woman was here.

"Mind if I use it? I need to check my email," Lenore assumed the computer belonged to her son-in-law.

Jeannie shook her head, "Can't. It has a biometric scanner. My fingerprint won't allow me in."

The older woman looked at the computer in distain, "Who would do such a thing? Someone is paranoid."

She thought it best to play along, "That is one way of putting it." Jeannie knew Rodney and Jennifer had some of their work on the computer and thus the need for extra protection. "I'm glad you are here, mom but your timing really sucks."

"You are going to have to deal with it. I'm your only mother and I am not going anywhere," Lenore reached out and touched Jeannie's arm.

_I think Mer would disagree when he gets back._ "How is work? Do you still work for Suncor?"

"Same job I've had since you were Madison's age," the mother shrugged. "I have a two week holiday. It seems to get colder every year, but I can't find it in me to leave."

"I really don't remember the winters, but dad and Mer complained about them all the time." Jeannie could see her mother tense when she mentioned the two men. She peaked into the living room to make sure Madison was okay.

"Of course they would complain. That is what those two did best," Lenore frowned. There was definite underlying hostility for the two even if her ex-husband had been dead for ten years.

Jeannie held up her hand to silence her mother when she heard someone coming down the stairs. She knew that Jennifer was the only other person left in the house and this had the opportunity to turn ugly fast.

"What do you think you are doing?"

Jennifer was amazed that Rodney was not sleeping as the two did not get to bed until after four in the morning. She was further surprised by his note that said he had gone shopping with Kaleb and her father. Jennifer headed straight for the coffee, not noticing the other two women sitting at the table.

"Morning, Jennifer. Or should I say afternoon?" Jeannie called out to her.

The voice made Jennifer jump since she thought that Jeannie and Madison would have gone out too, "Hmm, so it is." She looked at her watch and noticed that there was company. "Hello," she held her hand out to the other woman and with her other she rubbed the back of her neck.

Jeannie had a bad feeling about this. She knew that if her mother started bad-mouthing her son that Jennifer was not going to keep quiet. Something told her that if the physician lost her temper the results would be explosive. "Late night?"

Jennifer offered a weak smile, "Something like that." She noticed the laptop on the table, "Just what I was looking for."

Lenore noticed that Jeannie started to tense when Jennifer came into the room. She thought the blonde woman in front of her could be no older than her mid twenties and the fact that she had slept so late made her think that she could still be in college. "Hello," the woman shook Jennifer's hand. "Are you a friend of my daughter?"

Jennifer face soured when she realized who the woman was. From the little Rodney had told her about the woman she knew did not like this woman. She knew the less he talked on something the worse it was. Anyone who took the time to look could see that the scientist bore scars from growing up, but not many people got too far past the cranky arrogant exterior. She was debating if she should reply with a snide comment, "You can say that. We are soon to be in-laws."

She did see it as a total lie as she hoped it would be true one day. Jennifer did not find it odd that she could already picture herself marrying Rodney after only being an _official_ couple for a week. _Official_ being the key word. Since his recovery from the Second Childhood they usually had dinner together and then spent the rest of the evening together either playing chess or talking. The physician realized she had started to fall for the physicist when they worked together to save Elizabeth and later when he stood up to John and refused to shut down the reactivated nanites.

Jeannie did not expect Jennifer to say that and her mother knew Kaleb was an only child, "Jennifer..." She eyed the blonde woman carefully.

Lenore eyes darted between both women. She knew her son-in-law was an only child and that meant there was only one person that could make her an in-law. Something about Jeannie's reaction made her think that Jennifer was lying and it was; if her son was soon to be married then her daughter would not have reacted like this was the first time hearing the news.

Everything that went wrong in her life could be traced back to the child she had at seventeen. Forced into marriage as to not have a child out of wedlock and then having a very colicky baby who would cry for hours nonstop and to get away from the crying she would stand outside the doors of the house. Then came the allergies and countless emergency room visits. The most difficult part for the then young mother was that by the time the boy was five, he was already smarter than her. Raising a smart ass genius was a nightmare and as the years passed by she resented the him more and more. All Lenore wanted was a normal life with a normal child and she got that chance when her daughter was born. The final straw was when the CIA broke down the door to question the freak genius. The agents then not so subtly hinted that the family should move to Edmonton for better schools and that the CIA could keep tabs on Rodney's progress. Leave a preteen unsupervised and they build an atomic bomb and your life is further torn apart. She did not want to hate her son, but no matter how hard she tried it was easier to put up a bubble of hostility where he was concerned. Lenore thought it was too late to try to make any amends and to learn what kind of man he turned out to be. It best to believe he was a total failure. Yet, here her son had a woman to pretend she was his fiancée, "Did he pay you to say that?" _The negativity is so much easier._

"Excuse me?" Jennifer was insulted at the suggestion. _I can see why Rodney does not like to talk to about her._

"Mom!" Jeannie exclaimed. She was starting to think that her brother was not being dramatic yesterday, but she never had any problems with her mother.

Lenore gestured toward Jennifer, "If you are going to pretend you can at least make it a little more believable. Are you even out of college yet?"

The physician gave a sarcastic laugh, "Like I have not heard that one before. I even graduated medical school." She could give the attitude right back. This woman had nothing on some of the military personnel she treated on a daily basis.

"That doesn't mean he did not pa..."

Jeannie rolled her eyes, "Mer did not pay anyone." She had the feeling this was going to end well.

Jennifer was seething as she clenched her fists, "How can you even suggest that?"

"When someone disappears for six years and then someone suddenly claims to be engaged to him, it sounds a little suspicious," she did not mean to let it slip that she had been checking up on her son.

"You've been checking up on him? Haven't you?" Jeannie was not sure if she was surprised or not since Rodney never came up in their conversations.

Lenore was not please that she had made that mistake, "And so what if I have? I have a right to." There was an air of distain in her tone.

Jennifer raised her eyebrows, "A right? And why is that?" she was having trouble keeping her temper in check. The doctor knew it was not like her to get this angry, but when it came to the man she loved she became livid when people put him down. It made it much worse that it was coming from the woman responsible for giving him life. The people on Atlantis complained about Rodney, but there was an underlying respect they had for the man who had saved everyone countless times. Jennifer did not sense anything except for resentment from the woman.

The older woman knew she struck a nerve with the doctor and she looked the younger woman over.

"What?" Jennifer asked, feeling self-conscious. She looked over Jeannie for some help.

Lenore shook her head, "Just find it interesting." She was trying to see what else this woman knew about her oldest and just how close they were. "How long have you known him?"

"I've known Rodney for two years and what is so interesting?" She crossed her arms and scowled.

"I just don't quite get it. What do you see in Meredith? Last time he was rather loud, abrasive, obnoxious, arrogant and an all around pain in the ass smart ass," she knew it was cold to talk about him like that, but after all this time it was instinct.

Jeannie glared at her mother, feeling the urge to throttle her. She knew her brother could be all those things, but he had changed over the last few years and he was not like that as often.

Jennifer shrugged, "There is plenty. That is what happens when you are in love with someone." She wondered if Lenore even knew the meaning of the word. She did not see a need to explain her feelings to someone who was clearly biased when it came to her son. "If you would excuse me I have some work to do," Jennifer grabbed the laptop and ran upstairs, thinking it best the leave the horrid woman with that fact.

Lenore looked at her daughter after Jennifer left, "Is that for real?" She had a hard time believing that

Jeannie sighed, "Yes. They really are dating."

"Is it serious?" She tried to sound uninterested, but she could not pretend in front of Jeannie.

"What is it with you?" The younger woman shook her head. One moment her mother seemed to loathe her brother and the next moment curious and almost concerned about him.

Lenore shrugged her shoulders, "I cannot inquire about my son?"

"I have to questions your motives given the history between you two," Jeannie started to question her mother's sanity until she heard the front door close and two sets of footsteps head upstairs and one toward them.

* * *

Rodney did not know why he invited Scott to come engagement ring shopping with him and Kaleb. It was not as if he close with Kaleb, but John was currently in another galaxy and the two men were all he had. _Do you take your future father-in-law ring shopping? _After several stores Rodney still could not find something he liked and he thought the problem was that he did not know what he was looking for, but he wanted to have a ring before they left for Pegasus and he knew there would be no time to go shopping in Vegas.

Kaleb walked next to his brother-in-law letting him take the lead in where they went. They had seen a few really nice rings, but Rodney did not like any of them. "How much are you looking to spend and how much you can afford? That can help you narrow it down."

"Really don't have a range. Not having any living expenses for five years leaves you with options," he knew that was not helping. Rodney did not put any thought into the ring he bought Katie. It was simple and cheap, not the kind of decision he wanted to make this time around. With Jennifer he knew it was real and wanted to be something to last, something they could pass down to their child some day.

Scott looked between the two men and raised an eyebrow about the no living expenses comment, "No living expenses?"

Rodney shook his head, "Next to none. Just have to pay for some extra comforts." He did not want to say much more. He could not say much more.

Scott shook his head, "Do you have an idea of what you want?" He had wished he still had his wife's engagement ring to offer, but after her accident the ring was never found.

"Sort of," he nodded. "Nothing that will get in way of Jennifer working." Rodney realized that he was not sure if their engagement should be public knowledge when they got back. That would be something they would have to discuss if and when she said yes. "She'll say yes, won't she?" Rodney had not expected to say that aloud. He did not have John or Ronan to smack some sense into him. "Never mind," he waved his hand in front of him. The nervous man stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Did you know that both graphite and diamonds are both composed completely of carbon? But because of the difference in the bonds between their atoms they became two very different materials." It was always easy to fall back to science when he did not know what to say.

"Rodney, is there a branch of physics that you specialize in?" Scott asked, hoping to break the uncomfortable air that hung over all of them.

That was a question he could give a general answer to. Kaleb knew most of the specifics thanks to Jeannie opening her big mouth. "Astrophysics," he pointed upward.

"And there is other stuff I couldn't begin to understand," Kaleb added.

"Oh, just like that guy that said Pluto was not a planet anymore." The other man said, hoping he made the correct connection.

Rodney winced at the mention, "Kind of." He really did not like the comparison to Tyson especially after the debacle with Tunney. He was glad he had not mentioned Bill Nye or he might have lost it. Rodney was sure that Jennifer had not told her father what happened that day.

"Have you met him?"

He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice, "Neil and I go way..." Something caught Rodney's eye in the window. "That's the one." He knew it was the one the moment he laid eyes on it. The ring was simple and elegant and Rodney knew Jennifer would love it.

"You weren't kidding when you said no price range," Kaleb said with a nervous laugh, wondering if his brother-in-law knew they were in front of Tiffany & Co.

Scott stood behind Kaleb and looked at the ring Rodney had picked out and he was rather impressed. He wondered if his son-in-law to be could really afford a ring like this, but it was not his place to question. Jennifer would definitely be happy with the choice.

Rodney did not expect it to be that easy, but the ring was almost exactly the one he had pictured in his mind. He gestured for the other two men to follow him into the store. The hairs begun to stand up on the back of his neck as the enormity of what he was about to do started to become a reality. McKay did a slight double take when the saleswoman told him the ring would cost between nine and ten thousand dollars. He thought he could forgo the Batman collectables he had planned on buying because he knew making Jennifer happy was much more important that some silly toys.

Rodney thought he would be much more nervous than he was, but there was a calm that he only felt when he woke up with Jennifer in his arms. "I can return this if she says no, right?" There was a tiny hint of uncertainty that sneaked in.

The sales woman gave a stiff smile as looked over information sheet Rodney had filled out, "Dr. McKay, you are going to make your girlfriend a very happy woman. No woman could possibly say no with the Lucida setting." The woman was trained to say those words.

He gave a sour look, "But if she were to say no?"

The woman rolled her eyes, "You have thirty days with a receipt."

"Thank you," Rodney said with an even tone. He suddenly felt tired after only having three hours of sleep. Normally he would be fine with that amount of sleep, but with nothing to stimulate his mind he found that amount sleep made him tired. The purchase was wrapped up a half hour later and there was a big smile on his face that Rodney thought nothing could erase.

* * *

Kaleb was still trying to wrap his head around the amount of money Rodney had spent on a ring; he had been there when he picked up the last ring and that trip had a very different feel to it. Last time he thought his brother-in-law was just buying the ring just because he thought it was the next logical step and this time he felt Rodney was doing it because he wanted to, "Your brother is crazy. He just…" he stopped midsentence when he saw his mother-in-law in the kitchen. "Lenore," the man said evenly. "This is a surprise."

Lenore pursed her lips, "Hello Kaleb." There was a sugary yet acidic tone to her voice. "I thought it would be nice to surprise the three of you, but it looks like I got more than I expected."

"Where did he go?" Jeannie asked, wondering where the three men had gone to.

"Upstairs." Rodney had gone upstairs to put the ring away and Scott had to use the bathroom.

"Where did you go? And what did Mer do?" She wondered what her brother did to be labeled crazy this time.

Kaleb smirked and looked around, "Where's Jennifer?"

Jeannie looked at her husband, "Upstairs, working. Why are you asking?"

"He bought Jennifer a ring from Tiffany's," he explained.

"An engagement ring?" she wanted to be a hundred percent sure. A nod from Kaleb confirmed that.

Lenore turned her head toward her daughter and then to Kaleb. Jennifer's_ lie_ was not going to be a lie much longer and she had to wonder if she knew what her son had been planning. "She wasn't lying after all. Pardon me. I have to freshen up a little. I will be right back."

* * *

Rodney quietly put the ring away, trying not to disturb Jennifer who was working on his laptop. Once the ring was secure in his bag, he snuck up behind Jennifer to see what she was working on. "Year-end reviews. I don't envy you," he quickly kissed her cheek.

Jennifer was startled by her boyfriend's sudden presence, "You have to do these too, Mr. head of science and research." She looked up and noticed his smile, "Have fun shopping?"

"Finished mine a couple weeks ago. Somebody is a slow poke," he teased before he leaned over and rested his head on her shoulder. "Yes. Got what I wanted," he responded about the shopping.

"Not funny," she lightly elbowed him in the stomach. "When did you find the time to finish?"

Rodney knew he should not have gotten that close. "Ow," he rubbed his side and sat on the edge of the bed. "Sheppard and I made a bet who could finish first. I beat him by seven hours and earned myself a case of Ding Dongs."

Jennifer rolled her eyes, she should have known those two would have done something like that, "You better share when you collect."

"You will just have to visit my room when you want some," he laid back, getting comfortable on the bed.

"Something tells me I am going to be spending a lot time there anyway," she winked and closed the lid of the laptop. Jennifer stood at the side of the bed and looked down at him. He seemed really content and she hated that he was about to break it.

"What's wrong?" Rodney asked. Her expression had him worried. "Did I do something?"

"No," the physician said softly. "Move over a little." Jennifer nudged him with her knee.

Her actions were not doing anything to calm him. They only made him more nervous. "You are not leaving Atlantis are you?"

Jennifer shook her head and sat next to his head, "No. It is nothing like that. Why would you think that?" She brushed a loose strand of hair from his forehead. "What happened between you and your mother?"

Rodney frowned and his face went pale, "Why are you asking that? She is a vindictive old bitch and it doesn't really matter." His body tensed; as much as he wanted to put his childhood behind him he disliked talking about it even more.

Keller bit her lip and sighed, "Because she was downstairs talking to your sister before I came up here."

"That's not funny," he wished it was not true, but the expression on Jennifer's face told him it was.

Jennifer knew this was not the time for him to be stubborn and clam up, "From what I saw she is not a pleasant woman."

"Everyone but Jeannie and Kaleb see that," Rodney started to pout and crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you know that she did not even show up to my dad's funeral? She was away on a Caribbean cruise."

She knew better than to force him to talk, "I don't care what she says because I love you just way you are and nothing is going to change that." Jennifer would be there for him if and when he was ready to talk.

It felt as if a million butterflies were released in his stomach and a blush reddened Rodney's face, "Thank you. I thought things were going to be nice and simple being home, but it has been far from that. Is it wrong to say I would rather kneel before a Wraith Queen than talk to that bitter old hag?"

"That might be a little over dramatic," she moved to lay down next to him, her head resting on his chest. It was calming to listen to his heart beat. "Do you know what she had the nerve to ask me? So maybe I lied to her, but I cannot believe that she really asked that."

Rodney knew the story would not be pleasant and he started to run his fingers through her fine blonde hair in order to calm himself, "What did she ask? And what did you lie about?"

"When she asked if I was friends with Jeannie I kind of told her that we were soon to be in-laws," Jennifer paused for a moment. "Please don't be mad. I didn't know what else to say. When I realize she was it kind of just came out. I didn't know how bad things were between you two. I just wanted her to know right away that she wouldn't be able to get away with saying anything bad about you and that you had someone who love you. So I might have jumped the gun a little with the whole in-law thing. Then she had the nerve to ask if you paid me to say those things. I never wanted to hit someone so much before."

He started to laugh for two reasons; the first was that she was babbling like him and the second was that that when she was telling Lenore that they were soon to be in-laws he was taking a step to make that a reality.

Jennifer frowned at his reaction. Laughter was not what she had expected from him. Maybe a little of panic, but this was very unexpected. "What is so funny?"

"You babbling like me. I've become a bad influence on you already. I love it," Rodney smirked.

"You aren't mad that I suggested to her that we were engaged?" She was not sure since he did not bring it up.

He shook his head as his fingers trailed the curve of her spine, "Why would I be?" Rodney took that as a hint that her chances of saying no were slim. "Is that something you would be interested in?" He had planned on proposing when they were in Vegas, but she had opened the door.

Jennifer turned her head to look at him, not sure exactly what he was asking. "Rodney, what are you asking?" She felt her heart start to race.

His face started to turn bright red, not sure if he should do this right now. Things never did exactly do according to plan. "I mean...I know we haven't had exactly the most typical relationship. Okay, it is as far from typical as you can get. I knew there was something special about you from the time we worked to save Elizabeth after the beam grazed the central tower. But I was with Katie and I never thought someone as beautiful, sweet, amazing and smart would go for a cranky, arrogant, pain in the ass know it all like me. Then as we spent more time together I thought I might have a chance, but then last month you got caught between John and mine's water balloon fight. Then I kissed you and you ran away and I avoided you for the week after. I thought you hated me for that. Then everything this past week has been like a whirlwind. But from the moment I saw you unconscious on that floor I knew I could not live without you. People may think it is insane after only a week, but with all the craziness we've been through the past two years this might be the sanest thing to suggest. I don't want to waste anymore time."

Her eyes grew wide, not sure what he was trying to say. Jennifer was quiet for a minute as she tried to absorb what he had said. He had many valid points and they had spent a lot of time dancing around their feelings. "We wasted a lot of time by not being truthful with each other. I never said anything when you were with her because I thought you really wanted to be with Katie. Then after we were trapped in the mine I did not want to push you into something you were not ready for. I was planning on talking to you after your mission to M44-5YN, but..." That was the first time Jennifer admitted that.

"I got sick," he interrupted. Rodney remembered very little after he started to lose his memory.

"Then after you recovered we fell into that dating, but not really dating thing. Do you know how many people thought that we were seeing each other all that time?"

"Really?" he asked surprised. Rodney was never one to pay much attention to gossip.

Jenifer nodded, "Then you hid from me for that week after the water balloon fight."

"Only because I thought you were mad at me. You were the one who ran away if you remember and I had a nasty cold that week that I probably should have been on antibiotics for."

That made her laugh, "But you were too scared to come to the infirmary. Now that is a first. And for the record," she propped herself on her elbows and poked his chest for emphasis. "I only ranbecause you had this look of complete terror on your face after you pulled away from the kiss."

"Only because I thought I was going to be hit...Why are we even arguing about this? Because I think we are a little past that." Rodney reached up and pulled her head toward him, "Not going to run away this time?" he teased.

"Only if your breath stinks," Jennifer teased back. "Which it doesn't, so you are in luck." She closed the distance between their lips. After the kiss broke moments later she grinned and delicately traced his lips with her fingers, "And to answer your question; it is something I am interested in. Very interested in." It was crazy, but it felt so right at the same time.

"You are not just saying that, right?" Uncertainty filled his eyes.

"I mean it," she said softly. "Like you said given all the insanity that is our lives this might be the sanest thing even if people won't think it is sane. When you find that one special person you just know it is right." Jennifer did not expect people to understand why she was with Rodney, but she thought if they got a glimpse of the man she knew that they would understand.

"Is that a yes, then? Are you willing to subject to yourself to the rest of your life with me?"

Jennifer nodded, "It is a yes." She did never thought that she could feel this happy.

_That wasn't so hard. _There was a bright grin on his face, "Be right back."

She frowned, "Where are you going?" Jennifer reached out to grab his shirt.

Rodney shot one of his smug grins, "This is something that has to be done right." He was reaching into his bag and came up holding the blue box.

"You had this planned?" Her eyes went wide, recognizing where the box was from.

"Well, I had actually planned to this when we were in Vegas and then you bought up the subject." He reached to take her hand in his and suddenly felt nervous as his hand started to shake.

"And you couldn't wait." His nervous energy was contagious. "I already said yes. There is no need to be nervous." And yet her hands shook as well.

Rodney met her brown eyes and smiled, "I hope you like it." He opened the box and showed off the ring.

Jennifer's jaw dropped, "Oh wow." She was left speechless. "Rodney, it's beautiful." Her gaze jumped between him and the ring. "You are amazing."

"I know," he said. "When I saw it I just knew it was perfect for you."

"You did a great job. I love it and I love you," she could not take her eyes off of the amazing man in front of her. "Well aren't you going to put it on?"

"Oh...yeah. Of course," Rodney said with a nervous smile and slid the ring on her finger. _Perfect fit._

Jennifer looked at the ring on her finger and back at Rodney, "I really love you." She wrapped her arms and pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

The newly engaged couple would not be heard from for the rest of the night.


	8. Day 8

**Rating: **T

**Spoilers: **Season Five: Takes place after Brain Storm

**A/N: I don't own Stargate. The only things that are mine are Lenore and Scott. Next chapter they leave for Vegas and the real fun begins.**

_**Day 8- Coming to Terms**_

Rodney and Jennifer were enjoying a midnight snack of pepperoni pizza and beer even if it was closer to three in the morning. Their post-engagement celebration left them quite hungry and they were glad an all night pizza place was willing to deliver.

"You know this is going to come as a shock to a lot of people when we get back," Jennifer could not keep her eyes off the ring. No one had ever bought her jewelry from Tiffany's before and to have her engagement ring from there blew her mind.

"You know the view is better over here," he pointed to his face. Rodney pouted and turned away from her, pretending to be hurt.

Jennifer shook her head and moved to the seat next to him instead of across from him, "Are you jealous?" she teased.

"Why would I be jealous? I had you all to myself all evening," he took a bite from his second slice of pizza.

"One of your many talents," she picked up the crust that was left over from his previous slice. "Do we have to tell Woolsey about us when we get back?" she knew John would probably find out before the return trip. This was not something Rodney would be able to hold back from his friend.

"What business is it of his?" Rodney shrugged. "We are both adults in charge of our respective departments. But I think if you need help from my department it would be best if you go to Radek as to not have any appearance of favoritism," he smirked.

Jennifer rolled her eyes, "I'd rather not. He is a little odd and besides if I need the best I want the best. And as you are the best as you claim often and also have proven countless times, I think I'll stick with you," she poked him in the chest with the piece of crust.

"What are you buttering me up for?" he started to laugh, brushing the crumbs from his shirt. Rodney yanked the crust from her hand and tapped her nose with the piece of bread.

"Nothing. I am speaking the truth," she grabbed the piece back and took a bite from it. "It is hard to believe that our leave is half over."

"We still have the almost three week trip back, but that is not really time off. Caldwell will find something for me to fix. At least we have another month before we have to deal with Sheppard's nagging questions. I think I want to have a little fun with him when we get back and I am going to need your help," he did not have a full idea yet, but there was plenty of time to come up something.

"You two can be worse than ten year olds," Jennifer shook her head.

"I know," he said proud of that fact. Rodney had always wanted a brother growing up and now he had that opportunity with John.

Lenore was not happy that she had been banished to the cellar couch and she had spent a good portion of the night tossing and turning because of a spring that had been poking her in the back. Now that it was close to three in the morning the voices from the kitchen annoyed her. The  
woman was going to ignore them, but her throat was dry and she wanted some water. "Do either of you sleep?" she asked in a clipped tone.

Rodney inwardly groaned when the woman showed up. He knew he would have eventually run into the woman who gave birth to him, but he had hoped it would have been later. McKay reached into his pocket and pulled out his watch to check what time it was in Atlantis, "Seeing, that I haven't let myself get used to the time zone difference I would say ten P.M. is a little early to be sleeping,"

She should have known a snide comment would have come from him, "So it is still late evening where you have been hiding all these years?" Lenore matched his attitude, but there was a hint of curiosity in her voice.

"If you mean working? Then, yes it is that time were I've been hiding," he refused to look at her and instead concentrated on the half of pizza in front of him.

Jennifer was torn if she should speak up, but she knew Rodney was more than capable of sticking up for himself. In a show of support she slid an arm around his waist and gave him a small smile, "Love you." she mouthed to her fiancé.

Rodney knew after this confrontation he would have to tell Jennifer everything about his childhood. He had hoped to avoid it for a little longer, but that was not possible anymore. He returned the smile and mouthed the same words to her.

Lenore twisted her mouth up, finding another reason to resent her son; the look the couple exchanged was not something that could faked. She had assumed that they were pretending to be together to prove something, but she was not exactly sure what. The way they looked at each other only proved that they were in love. It was the way she used to look at her ex-husband when they first fell in love, but that changed a year later when she found out she was pregnant on her seventeenth birthday. "When is the wedding?" she knew it was too soon to ask, but she wanted to see their reaction.

"Why do you even care? It is not as if you will be invited," he did not want the bitter woman to ruin what should be a very happy day. Rodney was going to say more, but a pinch from Jennifer halted him from sliding into a full rant. "Probably next time we are on leave. At least a year and half."

"Leave?" she asked in disbelief as she looked at her grown son. "Like as in leave from the military?" Lenore could not picture him the man being in military as he did look fit enough.

Jennifer decided to answer this question, "Yes and no." She looked to Rodney to see if they should dangle more in from of the woman.

"Civilian contractors for the US Air Force," Rodney added. He put it in the simplest terms that Lenore could understand. There was no need to explain about the IOA and SGC. His contract was with the SGC which was part of the Air Force. "As much as I am sure it displeases you I've done really well for myself," he said, talking down to his mother. McKay wished he could rub it in her face exactly the kind of work he did because he knew it would shut her up once and for all.

"Working for the military is doing well?" Lenore did not believe it. "If that is what you think. That means that the two of you work together. How convenient," her voice oozed with sarcasm.

Jennifer nodded, "What do you mean convenient? Our paths would never have crossed if we didn't."

"My fiancée has a point," he liked the way that word sounded. Last year with Katie the word bought Rodney a sense of dread and with Jennifer it was the total opposite."We would never have met if we didn't work together. Besides we each have our own departments. It is a good job." Rodney did not feel he had to defend his career choice and if it were not for the top secret status he was sure he would have won a Nobel prize for Physics several times over.

"You always had a comeback for everything, didn't you?" the mother's face further soured.

"Except for when you said I was the one who ruined your life," there was another comeback. Rodney never admitted how much those words stung. It never made sense to him that the four words 'you ruined my life' did as much damage to his self esteem compared to her hostile attitude toward him his whole life. That moment was changing point in his life. The scientist had always been smug and abrasive, but that was kicked into overdrive after that moment and only in recent years did he start show to signs of that former person coming through and since Jennifer came into his life a side that had been long buried came back; a softer almost gentle side that only a very few select got to see. Everyone else got the cranky arrogant jerk.

Lenore took a deep breath, knowing deep down she regretted those four words. That day she had found out that she pregnant and when she told her boyfriend of six months he walked out on her. Then Rodney had shown up showing off that he had got a huge prestigious grant and she was not in the mood to deal with him. Words were thrown back and forth, ending with her saying those four words. For the rest of the pregnancy she had gone into hiding which was easy since Jeannie had just started college and phone calls were enough contact. Then seven months later when she gave birth to a boy, she wanted nothing to do with it and quickly put the child up for adoption. Males were the root of where everything went wrong in her life. "It is true. I should never had a baby at seventeen."

Jennifer narrowed her eyes, Rodney had never mentioned that his mother was only a teenager when she had him.

"And yet you did and you still hold a grudge after all this time." He was trying not to let her ruin his good mood. "You can say what you want. I know you are miserable for the choices you made and right now I could really care less. Does it bother you that much that I am ecstatically happy? Is it your mission in life to make sure I am as miserable as you?"

"Acid tongue as usual. Not all the choices were mine as you like to think. Your grandparents made a lot of the decisions for me." Her hatred for her son was a bad habit that could not be broken. It was like a drug she had become addicted to years ago and with the temptation dangling in front of her she did not know any better.

Rodney sneered and he took Jennifer's arm that was around his waist and moved it so his hand slipped into hers. A contrast between ugliness of hatred and the beauty of love. "Oh, that is nothing. I could really go into detail in what a horror you are. Do you remember when I was seven and you just dropped me off in the emergency room in anaphylactic shock and said that dad would pick me up later? Or how about the time you told me to let the monsters under my bed eat me? Do I need to go on?" Rodney was ready for a fight and was not going to back down.

"Are you sure this is something you want to have out with your girlfriend here?" She looked down upon the other woman. Lenore thought that the physician was being naive and that she had no idea what she was getting into by agreeing to marry her son.

Jennifer never hated anyone before until she met her future mother...better make that monster-in-law. "I am not going anywhere. Do you think there is anything you can say that will change the way I way I feel about Rodney? Not a chance. I know you have done a lot to mess with his head and you still are."

Lenore sighed and her face twisted like she had sucked on a lemon, "You really do love him?" Jealousy was obvious now and her hardened expression started to soften. The tiniest of smiles formed at the corner of her mouth

"More than anything," she said without thinking. "Some might think I am crazy for doing so, but when you find your soul mate you just know..." she let her words trail off and she looked into Rodney's blue eyes and saw a look in his eyes that she hoped to see for a long time. It was hard to put into words, but it was a look that only two people who shared a heart could understand.

Rodney was taken aback by the change in Lenore's expression. He could not fathom why she started to smile. He thought that she wanted him to be miserable and to hear Jennifer tell the woman that they were soul mates cause a warm tingling spread through his whole body. He and John used to make fun of the women on Atlantis when they overheard them talking about true love and at this moment he realized he did that because he had yet to experience it.

"Congratulations," Lenore said almost sincerely, but her tone was not without bitterness.

The couple looked at each other, not sure what to make of it. "Um. Thank you. I think," Rodney was still unsure of her motives. He was expecting a knife to be plunged into him. His mother being semi-human was a scary concept and Rodney was unsure of how to proceed.

The older woman did not intended to let her guard down for the brief moment that she did. Lenore looked at the engagement ring on Jennifer's finger, wanting to retreat to familiar territory, "How much did that put you back? Six or seven grand? Are you trying to compensate for something you are lacking?"

_And the nastiness is back._ Rodney had not expected it to last for too long and in a strange way he was comforted that she was back to normal, "It is none of your concern. I was able to afford it and that is all that matters."

"More than seven?" Lenore tried to push his buttons again.

"None of your business," he snapped. _I wonder if I throw water on you; will you melt?_ Rodney could hear Munchkins in his head, singing 'Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead'. A small grin formed as he could picture a house falling on top of her.

"What is that grin for?" she asked her son.

"Nothing. Nothing at all," Rodney leaned back in the chair, feeling relaxed. "I am just not going to let you ruin this good mood I am in. I really don't think there is anything you can do or say that will change it. For the first time in a really long time I don't think there is more I can ask for out of life," he felt one of his babbling rants coming on and Rodney was not going to hold anything back. "As much as you tried put a damper on my talents when I was younger it never seemed to work. It must have been pretty irritating for you to have a five year old correcting you on basic multiplication in front of the laughing hyenas you called friends." Those laughs were something Rodney was never able to get out of his head as the voices woke him many nights while his father worked overnight shifts at the oil sands plant. "It must have really stung to have looked so stupid in front of yours friends. I wonder how many times you _accidently_ gave me something with citrus in it."

Lenore could take a lot from him, but accusing her of trying to kill him was crossing a line and she was not going to take it. "Enough of that, Meredith," she moved behind him and slapped him upside the head. "I never tried to kill you. It was hard to keep up with all you were allergic to."

Rodney rubbed the back of his head. He knew he had gone a little far with the attempted murder accusation. The physicist saw Jennifer shaking her head and he knew she thought the same, "It is just citrus and bee stings. Not a whole lot to remember."

"Do you have any idea how many things have some kind of citrus in it? It was hard to keep up. Didn't you outgrow your allergy?"

"No. I was the emergency room the other day because I had a reaction," he looked at her like she had twenty heads. "It's not something you grow out of."

Concern crossed Lenore's face, "Are you okay now?"

Rodney shook his head, "What is with you? Is there multiple people living in your head? One moment you are your nasty normal self and the next," he paused for a moment and made a wide gesture with his hands. "Dare I say it...an actual concerned parent." He knew Jennifer would not find anything odd about her behavior, but this had him wondering if she was up to something.

Lenore's mouth started flapping like a fish as she tried to find a way to vocalize an explanation for her actions. She finally turned to Jennifer, "Could you give us a few minutes?"

Jennifer looked toward Rodney to see what he wanted her to do. She was not going to leave him if he needed her. The physician was worried about him.

"It's okay. I'll be up in a bit," he leaned over and kissed her cheek. "I will be okay. Don't worry," Rodney whispered. McKay was still trying to get used to the feeling of having someone worried about him.

Jennifer nodded, "I will be in our room if you need me," she lightly caressed his cheek before retiring to the room the couple shared. As much as she could see the two detested each other, the American could see similarities in their personalities even if they were parts of Rodney's personality he was trying to tame.

Once he knew Jennifer was out of ear shot, "Okay! What the hell gives? There is no need to pretend." Rodney could feel is good mood disappearing and that made him quite angry as he clenched his fists several times.

"Please don't yell," Lenore tried to stay calm. "Can't I just worry about you?"

"Um..." he pretended to think on it for a second. "With you, no."

"I know I put you through a lot and done some things I should not have done.," she started, but was finding it difficult to continue.

"Some things you shouldn't have?" Rodney rolled his eyes. "Oh, that is good. You mean like the last forty years?"

Lenore could not look at her son, "There are certain things I regret saying and doing." She hated to admit she was ashamed.

"Like telling me I ruined your life," he pointed out. "You know it is a little odd that one minute you are your normal bitchy self and then the next almost human. Are you dying or something? Because I've been there and done that and these hollow make up for the past sentiments are a load of bull."

"I am not dying. I did not even know you were here. I just came here for a visit with your sister," she hated that she had let her vulnerable side show. Her son's last sentence stuck her, "You almost died?"

Rodney let out a sarcastic laugh, "Several times, actually. It is not a big deal and it is not the point. It has been fifteen years since we last spoke and excuse me if am a little wary of your motives to get all warm and fuzzy family style."

"I regret saying to you what I did that day. I should never have said it," Lenore still could not look at him.

"Um, but you did and what is done is done," he threw up his hands.

"I was just having a bad day and I lost my temper with you. I was out of line."

"Bad day? A bad day is your excuse. That is a good one. How much of a bad day could it have been to have said that? Let me tell you about a bad day...wait I on second thought I can't. Being classified and all," he couldn't help with rubbing that in.

"Bad day? I don't think petty bickering between egotistical scientists is really all that of a bad day. There are people who have it worse," Lenore could never understand what both her children saw in physics.

Rodney rolled his eyes, "I wish petty bickering was the biggest problem I had." _Such is life and times in the Pegasus Galaxy._ "I wish you would just be honest and just tell me what you want. Is it money?"

She shook her head, "I don't want to hate you. I try not to, but it is all I know." It was a nasty sentiment to admit.

"And people wonder why I am the way I am. Let me make this easy for you. I do hate you. Lord, knows I have every reason to. I don 't want to have anything to do with you. You made a choice to treat me the way you did and you have to live with that. Now is a little too late to try and make up for it. If I was in a different place in my life I might think differently, but I don't have the time or energy to hash things out with you. Nor do I really want to. " Rodney felt he had every right to be this harsh, but there was always a small part of him that longed for acceptance from his mother. There was the other and much larger part of him that did not trust her and knew that if he let the woman into his life it would only be matter of time before she would hurt him.

Lenore knew this was to be expected, but she held out that there was a chance that he could find a way to forgive her. "I should have known better," she said bitterly. "You are more like me than you would ever admit."

He knew on some level that was true, but he would deny it vehemently. "I am nothing like you. The only good thing you taught me was not how to be a parent and I will put those lessons to good use when Jennifer and I decide to start a family."

After the rejection she was comfortable with being snarky, "Or until she trades you in for a younger model."

Rodney frowned as she knew right where to hit him, "Jennifer is not like that. You have no idea what we've been through the last two years to get where we are today." He knew she would laugh at him if he mentioned the whole love at first sight thing. _She won't leave me if I get too old for her? Would she?_

"If you say so," Lenore taunted.

"Oh please," Rodney rolled his eyes. "Don't drag me into you twisted world. I am going to join my fiancée in bed and we are going to sleep and you can go to bed alone," he knew that was wrong to say, but he did learn from the best when it came to digs like that. He gave a sort of half wave before he headed upstairs.

Lenore shook her head when he was gone. She knew her son was right when he had said it was too late to try for a relationship with him. The damage done could not be undone. She wondered if fate played a role in giving her that final confirmation. All that was left was to head back to her dungeon cell better known as the cellar couch.

* * *

When Rodney got back to his room he found Jennifer asleep and got into bed with her. He laid there for a moment thinking on what Lenore said about being upgraded for a younger model. His eyes had begun to close when he felt Jennifer's arm slide across his midsection.

"How did it go?" she asked sleepily.

He did not want to talk about and made a face, "You are not going to one day decide to upgrade me for a younger model?"

"What are you talking about?" Jennifer lifted her head. She wondered where the question came from.

Rodney turned to face his fiancée, "I don't know, but maybe in twenty or so years when I am really old and you might want some younger ... someone who won't be so old."

She shook her head and placed her hand over his heart, "First off sixty is not old and second and most importantly even when you are ninety I want to fall asleep like this with you every night." Jennifer rested her head on his shoulder.

He could feel his ears turn warm, "Are you sure?"

"I did agree to marry you. So that means till death do us part," Jennifer smiled at him. "Can we get some sleep now?"

Rodney's lip twitched into a smile, "Sure." Lenore's words held no more power over him.


	9. Day 9

**Rating: **T

**Spoilers: **Season Five: Takes place after Brain Storm

**A/N: I don't own Stargate. The only things that are mine are Lenore and Scott.**

**Day 9- Leaving on a Jet Plane**

Jeannie sat on the couch reading the newspaper, enjoying a few moments of peace. The house was quiet as Kaleb and Madison went to the park, her mother was sulking in the cellar and the last three house guests were packing, getting ready for their flights later in the day. She was a little sad to see her brother leaving so soon, but she was also happy for him. Despite the fight that Rodney had with their mother, he was still the happiest that she had ever seen him. "When is your flight, Mer?" she asked, hearing his footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Ten tonight," Rodney replied as he hit the bottom stair. "You going to be okay with the Wicked Witch of the West?" he pointed toward the cellar.

"You should try to talk to her before you leave." She knew it was too much to hope that they would ever be on good terms.

"Already did that. Did not go so well," he reminded her. "Not something I want to go through again."

Jeannie grinned up at her brother, "So you are really going to do this? I know last time you could not even pop the question without freaking out and now you propose with no problem and spend close to ten thousand dollars on a ring."

Rodney growled, "Why is everyone so concerned on how much I spent on the ring? I saw it and knew it was perfect for Jennifer. Who cares how much it cost?"

She did not mean to get her brother worked up, "Relax, Mer. I am happy for you, really. You've found your perfect match. I wish you and Jennifer a happy and long life together."

"Thank you and for the first time I am actually looking forward to it. Just hope I don't do anything to screw it up," he looked down at his feet. The physicist was worried that he would do something to mess up this relationship.

Jeannie shook her head, "Jennifer already knows how screwed up you can be and she still loves you and agreed to marry you. So she knows what she is getting into," she could not help to tease him as he was such an easy target.

"Gee thanks for that. Since I know you would make fun of me I am not going to tell you what else is on my mind," he pouted, pretending to be upset. Rodney would just drop her an email when she became an aunt, but that was at least a year away from happening.

"It's my job as younger sister to pick on you and since I hardly get to see you, with you living as far away as you do I have to make up for lost time. After you leave today, what is it going to be a year and half before I see you again?"

"Unless there is some major disaster that needs your help or my impending death again then a year and half or two sounds right."

Jeannie pointed at him, "Don't joke like that. That is not even funny."

Rodney shook his head, "I wasn't joking. You know how dangerous my job could be."

The sister wagged her finger, "As long as your work doesn't get me kidnapped again," her face turned serious. "Just don't get married without me there. I would like to be there when my only brother gets married."

"You don't have to worry. We aren't going to get married when we are in Vegas nor are we going to do it on the base. We want family to be there and it would be impossible to get everyone security clearance for only one day and then there is the eighteen day trip getting to the city. So we are going to wait until we get our next two week leave to get married. I only plan on doing this once so we have got to make it count," he turned when he heard a noise behind him. "Oh, great," Rodney sighed as he saw Lenore standing in the doorway to the kitchen, wondering how much she had heard.

Lenore had heard a good part of the conversation and was stunned. She wondered what exactly his job was to have gotten Jeannie kidnapped, "Excuse me?"

He felt his blood pressure rise as he looked at the woman looking at with him with scorn, "See this is what I mean."

"You got your sister kidnapped because of your work?" she could not believe what she had heard.

"Um. I have to finish packing. She is all yours," Rodney was not in the mood to be berated by the obviously angry woman. "Don't forget I bought you the car to make up for it," he pointed to his sister before running upstairs.

"Just what kind of work are those two involved in? Kidnapped? Please tell me he was joking." she looked to Jeannie for answers.

"Unfortunately he was not joking, mom," she hated to admit that. "Mer's job... to get to where he is you have to be the best at what you do. A guy wanted to save his daughter's life that's all."

Lenore crossed her arms over her chest, thinking that was not a good enough reason, "That does not justify you being kidnapped."

"Can we just drop it? I don't get to see him often and things have been real good between us the past two years and I don't want to ruin that. Yes, his job can be dangerous, but the things that he and Jennifer get to do and see are amazing," she hoped to get her mother to see her brother in a positive light for once.

"But it is classified?" the mother said sarcastically. To her it sounded like an excuse. "So you know where Meredith works?"

Jeannie nodded, "Been there twice." She wondered why she was so interested in his job. "You don't need money do you?" she was not sure how much her brother made but had to figure there was some kind of hazard pay living in another galaxy.

"No," Lenore sounded offended. "Why would you ask that?"

"Maybe because you are so interested in Mer's job. That you think mysterious job equals a lot of money," the daughter suggested.

She knew her daughter had a point, but she could not help being hurt by the accusation. "I was curious that is all and wondered if anything ever came from him building that bomb when he was twelve."

"I am pretty sure that is how Mer got involved with working with what he does now."

Lenore sighed, giving in a little, "What do you know about this Jennifer woman? Have you met her before?"

Jeannie was trying to be patient with her mother, but that was wearing thin, "You can ask them. I only met Jennifer once before and it really was not under the best circumstances. She did run here when Mer had a reaction the other day. He was supposed to meet her in Wisconsin yesterday, but she came here to make sure he was okay and you've seen the way they look at each other. She is good for him. They balance each other out. Don't ruin his happiness. I've begun to think that Mer was not exaggerating too much about how you treated him and he has come a long way over the last few years and I don't want to see him regress back to the person he was before he left."

"What is that supposed to mean?" she wondered what her daughter meant.

"Nothing. I've just never seen Mer this happy and he deserves it. He is leaving tonight anyway and won't be back here for a while so please stay away from him, Jennifer and her father until they leave later," Jeannie all but begged Lenore. "If you want I can give Mer your email address and if he wants to talk to you he can."

Lenore frowned, "Email? I don't have a computer at home. What good is that?"

Jeannie shook her head, "It is the only way I can communicate with him once he returns to work. It is not ideal, but it is the only way."

The older woman held her arms behind her and scowled, "It is too late, isn't it?"

"For what?" Jeannie was confused as her mother had been acting weird since she arrived. There was an underlying concern that something was wrong.

"To make things up to Meredith? I did not know he was here when I planned my visit. I had been thinking a lot lately about the past," Lenore could feel her hands start to tremble.

"As much as I want to be optimistic and say everything is going to be okay, but to be honest I think it is too late. You two are a lot more alike than either of you would ever dare admit to and he has your stubborn pain in the ass streak worse then you." There was a sad smile on Jeannie's face, knowing she would never have the cohesive family she dreamed of.

Lenore took a deep breath, "It was easier when I acted like I hated him. It is what I am used to. Why change right?"

"I guess," Jeannie really did not want to have things end this way, but with both of them being stubborn she did not see any other way for this to end.

"What is another fifteen years of not talking? It worked before," she hated to admit how much alike they were. "You'll still give him my email address at work then?" Lenore knew it would take a miracle for her son to ever want to talk to her. Twenty-five years was a long time to have put up with the mental games she had played and now she needed to live with the consequences of her actions.

Jeannie nodded, "I'll give it to him when I drop them at the airport."

"Thank you," the mother said with a weak smile. "I feel a headache coming on. I am going to go to my couch and take a nap."

* * *

_**Vancouver International Airport**_

Jennifer, Rodney and Scott sat in the terminal, waiting for their respective flights to leave. Scott's flight to St. Paul left an hour and half before the couple's flight to Las Vegas.

A scowl was imprinted on Jennifer's face as the two men in her life were engrossed in conversation and a game of chess on Rodney's laptop. It was as if she wasn't there and they did not even notice when she stood up, "Do either of you want anything to drink? I am getting myself a bottle of water." Her frown grew as they did not hear her. Jennifer had hoped that the two would get along, but she did not expect this well especially after their bumpy first two encounters.

Scott had been enjoying his future son-in-law's company and he realized once he got past all the nervousness and just relaxed that Rodney was a very likable person. "Where did you find a chess program like this? I want to pick a copy up for myself."

Rodney knew where Jennifer picked up her love of chess from, "I can send you a copy of the file. It is a program that my second in command and I created last year."

"You created this program?" he asked, genuinely amazed. It was better than most of the computer chess games he had played before. The graphics were not the best, but he still enjoyed the game.

McKay nodded, "Once you've changed around the base code for complex machines a little game like this is no problem and it doesn't hurt that you have two experts at the game writing the code for it." There was an uneasy laugh. "Though Radek is one of the best at the game," Rodney could not believe that he actually admitted that the Zelenka was better than him at something.

"Since Jen is not here, do you want to hear the stories that she would kill me if I told you about?" This was the first time that Scott felt comfortable enough to pass these stories of his daughter along.

"Sure. I would like that," Rodney grinned. Jennifer teased him enough about things and he would welcome some stories that he could tease her about.

"There was this one time when Jenny was seven and she got separated from her mom and I at a mall in Milwaukee.. We were going crazy for an hour looking for her and we finally found her in the security office, she was giving the guards a lesson in first aid. Should have known there she was destined for great things," the father beamed about this daughter.

Rodney smiled, "Jennifer is an amazing doctor and amazing person, but I might just be a little biased. I wouldn't let just anyone drill into my skull," he pointed to the small scar on his forehead.

"Drill into your skull?" Scott's jaw dropped. He was happy with the way Rodney's face lit up when he talked about his daughter. They both were clearly deeply in love with one another

"I got sick a few months ago. It was the only way...I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that," he pursed his lips. Rodney was still not too comfortable talking about his brush with death a few months ago. "Never mind that," he wanted a change of subject. "Do you have more time off or do you go back to work tomorrow?"

It was obvious that whatever happened was a sore subject even if he brought it up, "I still have a few days left. Had the full two weeks off..."

Rodney winced, "Until we planned the trip to Vegas. I'm sorry about that. It wasn't something we planned until after the conference." He felt bad that he had cut his visit short with his sister and that Jennifer had cut her visit short with her father.

"It is alright. My daughter's happiness is all that matters and that is something you are doing a good job at supplying," Scott was glad that his daughter had found someone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. Rodney was not the ideal man he had imagined for Jennifer as he was twelve years older than her and his behavior was questionable at times.

"And it is something I plan on doing for the rest of my life," he said with a smile. Rodney was sincere with those words. He would do anything to keep the woman of his dreams happy.

"What are you planning?" Jennifer asked, as she returned with three waters in hand.

Rodney shook his head, pretending he did not say anything, "I have nothing planned." He was never a good liar.

"You are a terrible liar, Rodney," she handed each man a bottle of water. "I think they are about to start boarding your flight, dad." Jennifer was sad that she had to say goodbye to her father so soon. "I'll miss you," she gave her father a tight hug.

"I'll miss you too, Jenny Bean. Have fun on your trip and call me before you head back to work," Scott pulled away from the hug and kissed her cheek. There was a bit of sadness as he realized his only child was all grown up and probably soon going to start a family of her own. "Rodney, keep my daughter happy and treat her well. Also, don't for get to send me a copy of that program," he held out his hand to shake.

Rodney took the hand that was offered to him and shook it, "I will, sir. With all three things."

Jennifer pouted as she heard her father's flight being boarded, "Have a safe flight home. I'll miss you. Someone picking you up at the airport?"

The father nodded, "Josh Clarkson said he'd pick me up. Don't make that face." Scott saw his daughter's reaction to the name. "Just don't get in any trouble in Vegas," he teased before giving Jennifer one last hug before he left to board his plane.

"Who is Josh Clarkson?" Rodney asked once Scott was out of hearing range. He knew it had to be interesting to have her frown at the mention of the name.

Jennifer rolled her eyes, slipping her arm around her fiancé's waist, "Just a creepy ex that my father is still on friendly terms with."

"Oh," he nodded. "Creepy like Radek creepy? Or like Norman Bates creepy?"

"Somewhere in between," she answered seriously. Jennifer fiddled with the pocket on his sweatshirt and a paper came out. "What's this?" she asked, looking over the paper and saw and email address on it. "Are you going to email her?" She knew the address belonged to Lenore.

Rodney quickly grabbed the paper and stuffed it back into his pocket, "I haven't decided yet. Jeannie gave it to me before I left. Better judgment says to throw it away, but I just can't seem to do it."

"Do whatever you think is best. Take all the time you need. I'll be here for you," she rested her head against his arm.


	10. Day 10

**Rating: **T

**Spoilers: **Season Five: Takes place after Brain Storm

**A/N: I don't own Stargate. Please read and review. Thank you to all those who have read this through. We are in the home stretch, only 4 chapters left. Sorry for the repost. Copy/Paste is not my friend and somethings went screwy when I copied from my main document to upload document. Some little thigns got left out and errors corrected. Enjoy!**

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**Day 10- What Happens in Vegas...**

Rodney laid back in a padded double lounge chair, drifting somewhere between awake and sleep. He and Jennifer had arrive late the previous evening, proceeded to gamble for several hours before retiring to their room. He was about to drift off into a dream when he felt a tug at his shirt, "Nobody is home."

"Well that is a shame," Jennifer circled her arm around his. "Aren't you hot wearing that t-shirt?

He shrugged, "Maybe a little, but the sun is too strong and I burn easily." There was an almost whine to his tone. "Besides I would blind most people with how pale I am."

"I've seen you without your shirt and you are not as pale as you think," she started placing several kisses along Rodney's jaw line.

"I think you just like me with as little clothing as possible," Rodney teased. He felt his cheeks go red. The physicist had never been one for public displays of affection, but then he never had a woman like Jennifer willing to kiss him in public. This was something he could get very used to.

Jennifer rested her head on his shoulder, "Well I have to test the goods before I decide to make a lifelong commitment," she said with an obvious tease.

"Oh, really now? And what have you decided?" he played along with her game.

"That I have found the man I want to grow old with," she sighed. This was much more relaxing than all the tension that hung in the air in Vancouver. Jennifer dreaded to think that there was only a few more days of this before they would be cooped up in the Daedalus for almost three weeks.

"Guess that makes me very lucky," Rodney said with a grin as he turned on his side to look at the woman of his dreams.

"Very lucky," Jennifer slid her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a smoldering kiss. There was little risk of them running into anyone they knew so she could be a little more forward in public than she normally would. "I am very lucky as well," the physician managed to get out between kisses.

Rodney groaned as he pulled away from the kiss, needing oxygen to his brain, "Hm. That definitely made it feel about ten degrees hotter." He took a deep breath and could feel the flush from his cheeks spread elsewhere. "Think I need to cool off in the pool," he pulled the t-shirt off and tossed it behind him.

"Have fun," she waved and then picked up his shirt that was thrown next to her. "The hives are total healed."

"They have been for a while now," he pointed out. "Try not to miss me too much."

Jennifer rolled her eyes, "I won't." She was still a little dizzy from the kiss and she wanted to use the time away from him to plan a special evening for them. It was about time she put to use the handcuffs and massage oil she purchased. A nice evening alone, order room service and not leaving the bed until morning. A perfect evening indeed.

The hard part was planning the menu. Besides taking Rodney's food allergies into account, Jennifer had to decide how big of a meal it should be. She thought finger foods would be fun and sensuous at the same time.

"Jennifer is that you?" a voice distracted her from the planning.

She knew the voice without looking up, "Josh? What are you doing here?" Jennifer was stunned to see the man who was supposed to pick her father up from the airport.

"I am here to visit my brother. Imagine my shock when I picked up your father yesterday and he said you were going to be here too," Josh shifted nervously from foot to foot.

"Really?" Jennifer sounded skeptical. Last she heard his brother was living in Texas. Instinctively she held Rodney's shirt against her as she did not want him looking at her. There was an odd vibe coming from the muscular man in front of her and it made the doctor very uneasy. "What else did my dad tell you?" she was never comfortable with the friendship her father had with her ex.

Josh bit the inside of his cheek, "He mentioned that you got engaged the other day." His eyes went to the ring on her left hand and thought it would easily cost half his yearly salary. "Congratulations," his words were hollow, but he tried to pretend to be happy. Scott had gotten his hopes up when the older man had expressed interest in reuniting the former couple. Josh was confused when the father and daughter left suddenly disappeared and then being called a few days later to pick the elder Keller up at the airport in St. Paul. He was crushed when Scott told him the reason he went to Vancouver and what happened while they were there.

"Thank you," she said in an even uncomfortable tone. "I thought your brother lived in Texas."

"He moved here a couple of months ago. He works as a cashier in the casino here," he lied. Josh wanted to see for himself that everything her father said was true. "Where is the lucky guy that has taken you off the market?" He wanted to see what this man was about as Scott had raved about him on the two hour car ride from the airport.

Something about his tone really bothered her, "He's in the pool." Jennifer looked around to see where Rodney was. "Should be back any time now."

"How is that job of yours that you can't talk about?" he tried to make small talk. Josh could not keep his eyes off the woman in front of him. He was almost drooling.

Jennifer inwardly groaned at the attention paid to her. There was a good reason they had broken up and his creepy behavior like this was reason number one, "It's good. We head back in a few days." _Where the hell are you, Rodney?_

By her last comment Josh assumed the two had to work together. "That's a shame," he said with a creepy smirk.

Rodney scowled as he returned with two bottles of water. He was gone fifteen minutes and there was someone already hitting on his fiancée. "Got us water," he handed Jennifer one of the bottles. He was staring daggers at the other man.

"Thanks, sexy," she took the bottle from him, relieved that Rodney had finally come back. "Rodney, this is the guy I was telling you about. The one who picked my dad up from the airport."

"Oh," he made a face. _The creepy ex_. "Josh, was it?" This put a whole new spin on things.

Josh was shocked at Rodney's appearance. He was far from the image that he had formed in his head with the way Scott spoke of him. "Your future father-in-law speaks very highly of you." The creepy man was having difficulty understanding what Jennifer saw in him; he was older and not the typical man he knew Jennifer to go for.

Rodney perked up at the mention of Scott talking highly about him, "Really?" he was shocked.

"Please. With the way you two were best buds in the airport I was wondering if I was going to have to plan your wedding to him instead of ours," Jennifer shot her fiancé a playful grin. She wanted to be rid of her ex, "It was nice seeing you, Josh, but we have a couples massage in ten minutes."

The built man frowned at the rejection. It was clear she wanted to get rid of him. "Don't let me keep you then," he looked down at his feet and grumbled as he walked away.

"I see why you broke up with him. Weird isn't the word," Rodney saved the words for when the man was out of earshot. "Did you really schedule a massage for us?"

Jennifer shook her head, "No. Just wanted to get rid of him, but if you play your cards right you might get one later," she leaned over and kissed his ear lobe. _And much more._

* * *

_Several Hours Later_

Rodney was in the bathroom, shaving when he heard the phone ring. He was curious as to who would call their room, but he pushed those thoughts out of his head when he heard Jennifer hang up the phone, "What do you want to do tonight? Dinner then roulette?"

Jennifer snuck up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist, "I was thinking something a little different." Her hand slid into the opening of Rodney's robe.

"Where do you think you are going with that hand?" he said with a slight laugh. IT was not staying in one place very long. _Please don't tease me._ "Does what you are thinking mean we are not leaving the room tonight?" If it did, it would be better than an evening of roulette.

"Something like that," she said with a mischievous grin. Jennifer removed her hand from his robe and placed both hands on his back. "Is this what we've become? Matching robes? What's next?" she teased. Her head rested on his back, feeling content. It was one of these moments that Jennifer wish she could freeze in time. A quiet simple moment. The first of, she hoped, many like it.

"Canes, walkers, being pushed in wheelchairs by the grandkids," Rodney still expected to wake up in Atlantis and find himself alone. This felt too good to be true.

"Funny. Real funny," she still liked the way it sounded. "I am going to hold you to those things." Jennifer smiled to herself. Yes, life with him was going to be very good.

His trademark smug smirk made an appearance, "What are your plans for me tonight?"

The woman started to laugh, "Before I came to Vancouver I picked up a few things I thought we could have fun with." Jennifer pushed herself away from him, "And that is all I am going to say for now." She let her robe drop to reveal the red sheer teddy underneath.

Rodney's jaw dropped as he saw Jennifer's reflection in the mirror. "Wow," he turned to face her. This was only further proof that this was a dream. His eyes were glued on the see-through material.

Jennifer pulled the robe back up and tied it, "That has to wait until food gets here."

He sighed heavily, "Oh, that is so wrong. So very very wrong." It was not fair that she was teasing him like this, but it was also a bit of a turn on. "How much longer? The phone call..."

She nodded, "Room service. Confirming my request. It will be about an hour and half." Jennifer waved before leaving the bathroom.

Rodney gulped hard, knowing it was going to be a long hour and half. "What else does your devious brain have planned for little ole innocent me?" he was pouting as he sat down next to his fiancée on the couch.

"Hands off. Innocent? Yeah right," Jennifer slapped his hand away from her robe ties. "Different finger foods, handcuffs and massage oil."

"Did you say handcuffs?" his eyes went wide.

She nodded, "I did. Don't worry they aren't metal. So I won't hurt you...too much." A very wicked grin spread across her face/

"We are going to be sore in the morning aren't we?" Rodney asked, thinking he was going to see a side of the normally reserved doctor that no one had seen before.

"Hopefully," Jennifer kissed him to hold him over to the food arrived.

* * *

**End A/N: **I know a certain someone mentioned wanting a tag when Jennifer bought the items and the time is here, but I am no good a writing M rated stuff so if someone wants to do it you are more then welcome.


	11. Day 11

**Rating: **T

**Spoilers: **Season Five: Takes place after Brain Storm

**A/N: I don't own Stargate. Please read and review. Thank you to all those who have read this through. Thank for your continuing support.**

* * *

**Day 11- ...Stays in Vegas**

Rodney laid in bed looking at the chaffing on his wrists and he frowned as he saw the redness went completely around them. Even though the cuffs had been padded he still managed to irritate his skin_. _He smiled at the sleeping woman whose head rested on his chest. The smile widened as he took pride in knowing he was the only one who knew of the calm physician's wild side. It was one small component that would keep the couple happy for many years to come. The physicist sighed and kissed the top of her head. Life was very good for Rodney McKay right now.

Jennifer started to stir when she felt the lips on her head. She was quickly becoming used to waking up next to the person who completed her. "Morning," she mumbled sleepily, not wanting to open her eyes. The blissful state of mind was not something she was ready to let go of.

"Only for another five minutes," he said with a laugh as he looked over at the bedside clock. "Sleep well?" Rodney brushed the soft hair away from her face.

"Hmm," she nodded. The sleepy fog had not completely lifted nor did Jennifer really want it to. "Any plans for today?" she started to draw lazy circles with her finger around his stomach.

"Dinner at eight and a show at ten. Had other plans too, but those changed," Rodney twirled the ends of her hair around his finger. He was too comfortable to think about moving, but also had a sneaking suspicion that if he tried to move his body would not be too happy with him.

Jennifer looked at him curiously, "What changed?"

"I already asked what I planned on asking you," he reached for her left hand and pointed at the ring on her finger.

She winced when she saw the red marks on his wrists, "Ouch. Sorry about those. Do they hurt much?" Jennifer placed a kiss on the inside of each of his wrists.

"Not when you do that," Rodney said with a cheeky grin. "Last night was incredible despite the wrist injury."

"Just suck it up, McKay. We have a long life together so you better get used to it," she was back to drawing patterns on his stomach.

"You know it is not too late to back out and change your mind about this whole marriage thing."

Jennifer shook her head, "Not changing my mind. I want to shout it from the top of the control tower."

"I think that new shrink person might start to question your sanity if you do that. The sane chief of medicine claiming her undying love for the cranky crazy head of science and research," he poked at her back as to emphasize his words.

"But they will be true. Make you the envy of the whole city," she poked his stomach in the same manner.

"Something tells me moments like this are going to be few and far between once we get back to Atlantis. By that I mean staying in bed until noon. It is amazing how quickly I've gotten used to this. Any way you can write me a doctor's note to get out of going on missions?"

"I think that would be a sign of favoritism," Jennifer pointed out.

"But I am your favorite. The ring on your finger says so."

"We will just have to make time for each other and that means no more overnight sessions in your lab," Jennifer tilted her head up toward him.

Rodney pointed at her and smirked, "Need I remind you that I always had time for you before we were even a couple."

"And then how many of those nights did you go back to your lab and work after we parted ways?" she challenged.

"Maybe about half, but now I have an incentive to come to bed early. Before I was returning to an empty room," he replied and thought that if work needed to be done he could do it after she went to sleep. "You comfortable?" he asked about her head on his chest. Most nights they had spent together her head had found a home there.

"I am. I like being able to hear your heart beat," Jennifer admitted shyly. Her eyes started to close and she drifted back to sleep. There was something about the sound of a beating heart so close that lulled her into contentment.

"Who's the old one now?" he teased, kissing the top of her head. Rodney carefully slid himself out from under her, making sure she did not wake before slipping his boxers on and headed to the bathroom. The walk was slow as his back and legs were sore from the previous evening and they cried out in agony with each step he took.

After a hot shower Rodney's muscles were less tense and he sat down on the leather couch, grabbing his cell phone and laptop before he got comfortable. There were a few emails he needed to needed to take care of before he got distracted.

* * *

**To:** Lt. Col John Sheppard

**From:** Dr. Rodney McKay

**Subject: **Do you think you are funny?

Sheppard,

Do you think you are funny? I almost died the other day and that is not fun. Having my throat close on me is not my preferential way of dying. Your concern is so touching, even with as odd as it came out. I am much better now and enjoying a few days in Las Vegas before we have to return. Right now I am watching a very beautiful woman sleep and she is probably dreaming of me and before you say it, not a nightmare. I kind of forgot... okay, purposely forgot to pick up the comics you requested. I've been kind of busy and will be busy for the next few days. Don't expect to get any of details of what happened on this trip. The only thing I can say is I won't be around as much to play our little games. What happens in Vegas stays here and what happened in Vancouver will stay there too.

McKay

Rodney laughed before he hit send on the email. He knew that would get his friend's curiosity going. Next, he had to do the obligatory email to his sister to let her know he was still alive.

* * *

**To: **Jeannie Miller

**From: **Dr. Rodney McKay

**Subject: **Greetings from Vegas

Jeannie,

Jennifer and I made it to Vegas in one piece. Though I am not sure if I am in one piece at this moment. I have never been this sore before, but it is all good. I guess you really do not need to hear those kind of details from your older brother. I just wanted to remind you again that you were wrong last year when you said I couldn't do better than Katie. Do I have to remind you what my fiancée looks like? I don't know how I got so lucky. Don't worry we haven't gotten married yet and we will wait until everyone can be there. What do you think of a destination wedding?

Your brother,

RODNEY

* * *

There was one final email Rodney wanted to send. He was not sure if he should mention the bizarre incident by the pool.

**To: **Scott Keller

**From: **Dr. Rodney McKay

**Subject: **Chess Program

**Attachment: **

Mr. Keller,

I hope your flight went well and you made it Chippewa Falls alright. I am attaching the chess program you wanted. I will also send you any updates to the game as we work on them. Sometimes nothing beats playing a round on an actual chess board. Perhaps next time we are home for a visit I could challenge you to a game or two.

Something odd happened yesterday. And for me to say odd it has to be pretty bizarre. That man, Josh, who was supposed to pick you up at the airport showed up here. He said he was here to visit his brother, but is appearance really unsettled Jennifer. She hasn't said anything to me, but I know it upset her.

Sincerely,

Rodney

* * *

_**Later that night **_

Rodney closed the door behind him and put the bottle of champagne on the table in the entranceway of their room. "You, my dear fiancée, are a good luck charm," he called out to Jennifer who was headed to the bathroom. The delighted man would not soon grow tired of referring to her as his fiancée.

"All I did was press a few buttons," Jennifer called from the bathroom where she was removing her makeup. When they returned to the hotel after the show, the couple had gone to the casino to play the slots. "And to think you yelled at me for hitting the max bet."

"I said I was sorry," he threw his suit jacket over the back of a chair and started to loosen his tie.

"Now we have enough to pay for our wedding...whenever that will be," she returned to main room. "Did I mention how sexy you looked in your suit?" Jennifer bit the inside of her cheek. She really liked the way he looked in his dark grey suit and black shirt. Living on the base did not lend the way to dressing up often.

Rodney smirked smugly, "You might have mentioned it a few times." The woman before him was definitely good for his ego and with one accidental button push they had won almost thirty thousand dollars. "As for our wedding I was thinking next year when we get our next two week leave. That way we don't need to worry about security clearance for everyone."

"Sounds like a plan," she playfully removed his tie and placed it around her own neck. "Can you unzip me?" Jennifer turned around, exposing her back to him.

"Do I have to?" he pouted. Rodney was not able to take his eyes off her all evening. The just above the knee blue dress got her many second glances from other men, but it gave him satisfaction had he could slip his arm around her waist as to show them that the geek could get the pretty girl. They didn't need to know that the girl was as much of a geek as he was.

"I want to take a shower. So, the answer is yes. And stop staring," she turned back around briefly to swat his hand.

"Fine," Rodney said with a dramatic sigh. He slowly unzipped the dress and kissed the back of her neck. "While you shower I'll get some ice to chill the champagne."

"We can celebrate again. Maybe talk wedding plans?" Jennifer asked hopefully.

"Um...yeah. Sounds good." He suddenly felt nervous about the idea of talking about actual plans. This was the first moment since getting engaged that anxiety took over.

The physician heard the uncertainty in his voice. She frowned, making sure he did not see the confusion and hurt on her face.

Rodney watched as Jennifer slid her dress off on her walk to the bathroom. He emptied his pockets, putting his wallet and cell phone from on the table next to the bottle of bubbly. He quickly looked at his phone and saw it was a little past midnight. McKay snapped his fingers before grabbing the ice bucket. "I love you," he shouted over the sound of the running water.

The scientist was notorious for his lack of navigational skills and it took him several minutes and trips around the floor to find the room with the ice machine. The machine made loud noises as each cube of ice fell to the buck below. Rodney did not hear someone approach from behind until the butt of a gun connected with the back of his head and everything went dark.


	12. Day 12

**Rating: T**

**Spoilers: Season Five: Takes place after Brain Storm**

**A/N: I don't own Stargate. Please read and review. Thank you to all those who have followed this through. It has surpassed my previous story in reviews and word length and I am not even done with this one yet. Thank for your continuing support. Thank you to Shadows-of-Realm for the beta. Only 2 days left.**

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**Day 12-That's What Friends are For**

Jennifer stepped out of the shower and noticed the room was unusually quiet. There was no TV on, no radio on and no tapping of a keyboard. She wondered if Rodney might have fallen asleep because she had taken longer than she had planned. There would be fun ways to wake him up if that was the case. Her brow creased when she saw the room was empty, knowing that it did not take that long to get ice. He should have been back long before she was done with the shower.

"Rodney," she called out, thinking maybe he was playing a trick on her. When he did not respond she started to get angry and worried at the same time. Jennifer thought the man might have started to get panic when she mentioned talking about wedding plans, but that thought was quickly erased when her eyes fell upon his wallet and cell phone that were on the table next to the champagne bottle. If Rodney had left to room with the intention of not returning soon he would have taken them with him. She noticed the ice bucket was missing, proving that he had left the room with the plan of getting ice and coming right back.

Rodney's paranoia had quickly rubbed off on her and her thoughts went the most horrible ideas first. Jennifer quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and his t-shirt she had stole before leaving Colorado and headed to the room where the ice machine was. Her thoughts of worry were spot on when she saw the ice bucket on the floor and the melted ice mixed with what looked like blood; not a lot, but enough to make her concerned. The physician went pale and raced back to the room.

Jennifer's hands were shaking as she grabbed Rodney's cell phone and she called the one place that could best help her. Her mind was playing out the worst case scenarios; that his body was going to turn up in the middle of the desert. Something had happened to her fiancé and she had a bad feeling that he was in serious trouble.

"Come on answer," she sighed into the phone as it rang for a fourth time. Jennifer's legs were shaking and she needed to sit before they gave out from under her.

"General Landry's office." After the fifth ring Walter Harriman picked up the phone.

"Thank goodness," Jennifer was relieved when someone picked up the phone. "This is Dr. Jennifer Keller. I need to speak to the General or Colonel Carter immediately," there was a great urgency in her voice.

Walter was not pleased that he was stuck working the overnight shift, but he knew it had to be important if the Atlantis department head was calling in the middle of the night during her leave, "The General has gone home for the night and Colonel Carter is the middle of a scheduled dial-in with Atlantis."

The doctor thought that was even better, "Colonel Sheppard is going to want to hear this. I need to speak to her now. Something has happened to Dr. McKay." Jennifer was on the verge of a break down.

The chief master sergeant could hear the panic in her voice, "I will get her. Please hold." He ran to top of the stairs by the gate room, "Colonel Carter, I have Dr. Keller on the phone. She said something has happened to Dr. McKay."

Sam looked back at the man, wondering what Rodney had done to be getting a call past midnight from his girlfriend.

"What did McKay do this time?" John asked. He had heard what the gate technician said.

Carter shook her head, "I have no idea. This ought to be good. I will be right back." The military woman jogged up to the stairs to the general's office. "Jennifer, what is going on?" she wondered if she was going to hurt her fellow astrophysicist.

Jennifer took a deep breath before beginning, "Something's happened to Rodney. He's gone. I don't know what happened. I went to take a shower and he said he was going to get ice. When I got out he wasn't here. I was in only in there for a half hour and then he wasn't in the room. I thought maybe I had scared him away with something, but his wallet and cell phone were still in the room and if he had gone out he would have taken those with him. I went to see if he got lost coming back from the ice machine because you know how good his sense of direction is. When I got to the room where the ice machine was, the ice bucket was on the floor with melted ice and there was blood on the floor. Someone must have taken him. I knew he wouldn't just leave." She got the words out in one breath, a babbling rant that would make Rodney proud.

That was not the news she was expecting and it was not good that he had already been missing for a half hour. There was so much that could have happened in that time. "I am going to try to track him with his subcutaneous transmitter and in the mean time I am going to send some military personal from Area 51. They should be there in no time and I will come over as soon as I am done with the dial in. What hotel are the two of you staying in?" Sam did not miss that she had already picked up her boyfriend's babbling habit.

She chewed on her lip, "The Wynn. Room 4315. Please hurry. I don't have a good feeling about this." Jennifer hung up the phone without waiting for a response.

* * *

The colonel ran back to the gate room and got back on the radio, "I'm back."

"What did McKay do? I am going to have to hurt him when he gets back here?" John replied.

"Something happened to Rodney. Jennifer thinks someone might have taken him. She said he went to get ice and he never came back. When she went to check on him she saw the ice bucket and blood on the floor. She sounded very distraught," Sam did not have a good feeling either. It had not been a good trip for the two department heads; first there was what happened at Kramer, then Rodney's allergic reaction and now this.

John did not have to think twice on it, "Ronon and I will be right there." If something had happened to Rodney he was not going to sit back in another galaxy and do nothing.

John reached for his radio, "Lorne, come in." He knew his second in command was in the gym having a sparring session with the one he was looking for.

Evan had been taking a break from the season when he heard his commander calling him over the radio. "Yes, sir. What is it?"

"I know you are in the gym with Ronon. Have him come to the gate room immediately," John was worried about what kind of trouble Rodney had gotten himself into. According to the email he had received it seemed like he and Jennifer were having fun in Vegas.

"Everything okay, sir?" Lorne asked. "Do you need my help as well?"

"McKay has gone and gotten himself kidnapped in Vegas. It is alright Major. You stay here and take care of things while I'm gone."

"Kidnapped, sir?" he asked to make sure he had heard right.

John sighed, "Keller thinks so. I don't have all the details. We've got to get him out of whatever trouble he got himself into. Sheppard out."

"Sheppard wants you to meet him in the gateroom?" the major turned to his sparring partner.

"Who got kidnapped?" Ronon asked. Life on the base had been quiet since a number of the personal had left for Earth and he was glad it seemed like he would have something interesting to do.

"McKay..." Lorne did not even get a chance to finish before the burly man took off. He knew very well how the team dynamic worked. There was always that special bond that one of your teammates was in trouble you would do almost anything to save them. It was the way things were when anyone of the base were in trouble but it was different when it was a member of your off world team and Lorne could imagine more so with everything Sheppard's team had been through.

Ronon did not even break a sweat on his sprint to the gateroom. "What happened?" he asked seeing John talking Woolsey.

"According to Keller, Rodney went to get ice and never came back. When she went to look for him she found the ice bucket on the floor and melted ice and blood next to it."

The Satedan knew that this could mean serious trouble, "Was the blood his?"

John shrugged, "Colonel Carter never said." He reached for the life signs detector that sat next to the dialing computer.

"The Daedalus will be in beaming range in twenty hours. Let's hope you find Dr. McKay before then," Richard informed to two men. "Good luck." In the back of his mind, Woolsey had to wonder if the abduction had to do something with someone wanting the knowledge that Rodney had.

The military man nodded, knowing there was no need for words. He knew the longer Rodney was gone the less likely he would be found alive. He silently prayed that if his friend was taken for what he knew that he would not crack under the pressure of whatever was being done to him. Those thoughts had to be banished from his mind or he would not be able to concentrate on finding Rodney.

* * *

Sam was beyond frustrated as she was having difficulty locking on the signal from Rodney's transmitter. She could not tell if it was because McKay was in a location where the signal could not get through or if was deactivated.

"Colonel Carter," John stood at the doorway to his former boss' lab. Ronan was standing right behind him. "Any news yet?" he asked even though it had been ten minutes since he talked to the woman.

Carter shook her head, "I can't get a lock on his signal. I sent some of our Area 51 people to the hotel so they can start looking. They should be getting to the hotel in about ten minutes."

"Who took him?" Ronon asked. He was worried too even if his outward expression said differently.

"Don't know. There is a plane waiting for us at Peterson to take us to Vegas," Sam looked at John and shook her head.

"Did Keller say anything else?" Sheppard asked, hoping they would have a search plan when they landed.

Carter shook her head, "No. She was really upset and she hung up for I could ask more questions." In the time Sam had spent on Atlantis she had never seen the CMO panic and she heard it in the woman's voice tonight.

"Are we going to find McKay or just stand here talking?" Ronon said in a clipped tone.

"Let's go and find our geek and bring him home," John cuffed his teammate on the shoulder.

* * *

Jennifer had spent the better part of the last two hours imagining the worse; Rodney's body never being found, his head being delivered to her via FedEx and other horrible outcomes. She barely recalled speaking to the air force personal that Sam had sent over from Area 51.

Keller sat on the couch, her knees drawn to her chest. Her eyes were red from crying and she was not sure if she would be able to stop anytime soon. This was not the first time Rodney had been in a situation like this and she had not lost it like this before, but it all changed the moment she said 'I love you' to him. She sighed as pushed herself off the couch and she had to grab onto the arm of the couch to keep herself from falling. Jennifer knew she had to pull herself together before the others arrived. They did not need to see what an emotional wreck she was. It was only a few hours Rodney had been missing, but was a few too long.

"Where the hell are you?" she spoke aloud to herself. The trio of Area 51 military personnel did not know that she had heard them say they were having trouble locking in on Rodney's transmitter signal. The fact only made her worry more because she thought that whoever had him knew about the transmitter and deactivated it.

Jennifer was pacing the room in circles when she heard the door open and she stopped and looking up, hoping to see Rodney walking through the door. Her hopes were dashed when John, Ronon and Sam walked in.

"Hey doc," John said as he entered the room. The first thing he noticed was the red eyes a clear sign she had been crying.

She gave the trio a weak smile, "Hey. Thank you for coming." Jennifer drew a shaky breath as she pulled her hair from her shoulders. "Have you heard anything?" she started to wring her hands together. Even though it had been only two hours it felt like many more had passed.

Ronon stood back at the door, watching everything that was going on. Part of him was still sore that she had chose McKay over him, but Rodney was still his friend and he would hate himself if something happened to him and he did nothing.

Sam put a reassuring hand on Jennifer's shoulder, "I'm sorry. We haven't heard anything. We are having trouble locking on to his subcutaneous transmitter signal."

Jennifer chewed on her lip, a nervous habit that she had not fallen back in many years. "I heard them say that before," she pointed to the door. "What about the Daedalus?"

"It'll be another eighteen hours before it's in range," John said as he looked around the room. Between Rodney's earlier email and looking around the room it was clear this was meant to be a romantic getaway. _Leave it to McKay to get the woman of his dreams and then gets himself kidnapped._

"Jennifer, I need to you to tell me what happened?" Carter lead the other woman to sit on the couch. Sam thought the doctor was either about to be sick or pass out.

"We had just got back from the casino and I went to take a shower and he went to get ice for the champagne so we could celebrate," Jennifer took a deep breath. This was not right; they were supposed to be celebrating and now she was worried if she was ever going to see him again. "When I got out of the shower he wasn't here. I thought he might have run off, but his cell phone and wallet were still here. I mean if he was going somewhere he could have taken those with him, right? So he must have gone to get the ice like he said he was. So when I went to check to see maybe if he got lost. I mean of course this is Rodney so it is possible. When I got to the where the ice machine was I saw the bucket on the floor and then there was all the blood."

Sheppard leaned against the window sill and listened to what Jennifer had to say, "Celebrating?"

"We won twenty-nine thousand dollars off a slot machine."

"Wow! Good haul," Same nodded, wondering the money had to do with Rodney's disappearance. "Do you think someone who saw you win had something to do with this?"

Jennifer shook her head, "I don't think so. They don't hand out that kind of cash. They put the money into Rodney's bank account."

"Did you notice anyone following you when you left the casino? Anything out of the ordinary happen since you arrived in town?" John asked, trying to figure out who might have wanted to take McKay.

Keller blushed slightly, "We really weren't paying much attention." Rodney's hands had gotten very creative on the way back to the room, making use of her short dress. "Yesterday we ran into this guy I used to date. It was a little odd because he had picked my dad up at the airport the day before and then him to show up here was a little odd. "

"Would he have done something to Rodney?"

Jennifer shook her head, "Josh Clarkson is harmless. A little weird, but harmless. He said he was here to visit his brother who moved here recently." She did not think her ex had it in him to kidnap Rodney. To be honest she did not think he was smart enough to pull something like this off.

Ronon had been getting antsy and he hated waiting around and doing nothing. "Sheppard, are we going to start looking for McKay or not?" He felt uncomfortable being in the same room as the woman he still had feelings for.

John shot Ronon a look as to tell him to be quiet, "We are trying to figure out where to start to look. Hotel security did not get anything off the cameras."

"The life sign detector you brought? Might had be able to pick up his signal?" Ronan asked. "You know I hate waiting."

Sheppard pulled out the detector from his pocket, "It might. Rodney was tinkering with this one before he left. Said he was making some kind of modifications. Maybe it would work. What was McKay wearing when you last saw him?"

"Dark grey suit pants and a black dress shirt. He took off his jacket and tie before he left."

Carter looked at the two men, "Why don't you two go. Check around the hotel and see if you can find anything. I'll stay here with Jennifer in case he comes back." There was no way she was going to leave the other woman alone in this state.

Ronon nodded and sighed, "We'll find him, Jennifer."

John agreed, "Don't worry doc. He'll be back in no time, driving you crazy again. You know Rodney would not miss his trip back to Atlantis for anything." The colonel had hoped to lighten the mood. They all had been through so much the past five years and they always managed to survive and this time was going to be no different.

"Thanks, Sheppard. You're a good friend. You too, Ronon," Jennifer looked at the other man.

Sheppard nodded and grasped Jennifer's shoulder, "We'll let you know what we find." He nodded toward the door before taking the other man and leaving the room.

Once the men were gone Jennifer shook her head, "This isn't the first time this has happened."

Sam offered a smile, knowing how the woman felt. "It's different when you admit you are in love with them." She had felt the same way when Jack was in trouble. "You find yourself reacting differently than you would have before. Love is funny that way."

The young woman nodded in agreement, "Who would have thought a cranky pain in the ass could find a way into my heart? I don't know what I would do if something happens him."

"But there is another side to them. A side they don't let many people see. Jack is...was different when we were alone," Carter said a fond sigh. There were some days she really missed him.

"Were?" Jennifer asked, welcoming the distraction. She knew exactly what the other woman meant. She got to see a side of Rodney very few people got to witness.

"We broke up two months ago," Sam said in a matter of fact tone. "Do you want me to get you some water?"

"Thanks," she said about the water. "What happened? That's if you don't mind me asking."

"The long distance thing did not work. The year I was on Atlantis was the beginning of the end. Then when I got back he was always busy with this new project he is working on. We never had time for each other and there was always the issue that he was once my commanding officer. We just thought it best to stay friends. It still hurts, but it is better than struggling to make the relationship work," the colonel headed to the bathroom to get Jennifer water. Sam almost dropped the glass into the sink when she saw the ring on the counter. She picked it up and examined it. "Nice one, Rodney," she mused to herself and returned to Jennifer with the glass in one hand and the ring in the other. "Forget something?" the female physicist held up the ring.

"What?" Jennifer asked before looking up and seeing her ring. Her face flushed, "Umm. I took it off when I showered and with everything that happened I forgot to put it back on. Thank you." She reached to take the ring back, getting mad at herself that she had forgotten about it.

"You're welcome," Sam could not take her eyes off the ring. She remembered what Rodney told her and Jennifer about what happened with Katie so it was a shock to learn that he wasted no time with Jennifer. "I don't know what to say."

Keller smiled meekly, "I know it's sudden and crazy, but Rodney and I agreed with as crazy as everything has been the last two years that this is one of the sanest things to do. It's just one of those things that feels right. We wasted too much time denying to ourselves that there was something between us."

"When the three of us were trapped in that mining facility, where you two..."

Jennifer shook her head, "Not yet."

Sam smiled. She wanted to keep Jennifer talking so she would keep her mind occupied, "You want me to tell you about the first time I met Rodney and how his abrasive know-it-all attitude got him transferred to Russia for six months?" That man and the one Rodney was now were very different people. He still could be an arrogant jerk, but his attitude had been severely toned down.

"Sure. I would like that," the worried doctor started to relax.

"Colonel Carter, come in." John's voice came in on the radio.

"Yes, John. You find anything?"

"Yes and no. There is no sign of McKay anywhere in the hotel or casino. Someone said they saw a black van speed out of a service entrance about two hours ago. They don't know which way it went. Ronan and I are going to track down the van. Ask Jennifer if that ex of hers brother's name is Kevin Clarkson."

Sam relayed John's message to Jennifer and watched as the color drained even further from her face.

"That's his brother's name," Jennifer knew what the question meant. "Josh is the one who took Rodney, isn't he?" New tears started to fall as a new wave of fear took over.

"It looks like it could be," John had heard Jennifer in the background. "There is no record of a Kevin Clarkson having ever worked in any Las Vegas casino or ever have lived in Nevada."

* * *

Rodney groaned as he started to regain consciousness. His body felt like he had been hit by a Wraith stunner several times set on maximum strength. He could taste the coppery tang of blood in his mouth. A split lip was the least serious injury from what he could tell. The physicist had no idea what other injuries he had sustained the several beatings he received which always ended up with him passing out from the pain. He wondered how much more his body could take before it gave up. "Who do you work for?" he asked in a strained voice.

"I don't work for anyone. Why do you keep asking that?" Rodney's captor asked.

"Because the only other reason for you to be doing this is stupid. Plus it's not going to get you anywhere except into a lot of trouble," he tried to focus on the other man, but the pain made it impossible.

"Why is it stupid?" A foot pressed down on Rodney's back and pressed until he cried out in pain.

"Because the moment you laid a hand on me you lost what if any credibility you had left with Jennifer," Rodney closed his eyes to block out the pain. He wondered how long it had been since he was kidnapped and why no one had found him yet. "What did you do to her?" It was the only logical explanation why no one had come for him; no one knew they were missing.

"I didn't do anything to Jenny," Josh knelt down to look at his victim. "I love her. I always have and once you are out of the way she will remember what we meant to each other."

The prisoner snorted, "She hates being called that." Breathing too deeply hurt too much and it ended in the injured man coughing until he was gasping for air. Rodney knew there was no reasoning with an insane person and he knew he should give up trying, but his mouth would not let him. "Don't you get it? If I die by your hand Jennifer is never going to want to even be in the same room as you."

"And what makes you special?" there was disgust in the man's voice a gun was pointed at Rodney's face. "I just can't understand what Jenny sees in you."

The comment made Rodney see red, "That I am not some pea-brained jock. Is that what you mean? I bet you don't even know what pi is."

Josh was thrown by the question, "Pie? What kind of stupid question is that? Who doesn't know what pie is?"

McKay winced as she tried to get his hands free. Even though the plastic ties were on the outside of his shirt everything he tried to wriggle free they would cause pain to the injuries on his wrists from the previous evening. "Obviously a question that goes right over your head. Just to prove my point even more. Pi as in the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, having the numerical value of 3.141592653589793 and so on."

"So you think you are better than me?" The conceding attitude of the other man only made him more angry. Since Josh had run into the couple by the pool he could not think straight. The way he had been blown off by Jennifer and then to watch the way the couple looked at each other; it was a look that he had never seen on her face before. He wanted Jennifer to look at him like that and the only way he could do that was to get rid of Rodney.

"You really don't want me to answer that," Rodney was amazed that he had held on this long. He did not have a high tolerance for physical pain and he could feel himself starting to black out again. "You know the people I work for have a way of tracking me. They should be here any minute now and then you are going to be sorry." The injured man had no idea how long he had been here with the multiple times he had drifted into unconsciousness, but he knew they should have found him by now. _Maybe she isn't looking for me. No, don't even think that. Maybe it is something with the building that is stopping the signal from getting through. Yes, that has to be it. Jennifer has to be looking for me. She wants to marry you. She will find you. Just hold on a little longer. You will see her again very soon._ The mental pep talk helped Rodney find a little bit of strength he had left.

"It has been over twelve hours. Shouldn't they have found you by now?" Josh was not buying Rodney's assertions.

The news that it had been that long hit Rodney like a ton of bricks. Any hope he thought of a rescue was quickly fading. It was the last thing keeping him from unraveling, "You know this is just my luck. Everything for once was going perfectly and then some simpleton has to come and take it away. I was actually looking forward to getting married and having kids and now that is never going to happen because some dumb jock with mental problems couldn't get the hint that his ex-girlfriend has no interest in him and thinks he is creepy. And to think that I would be the one to screw this up. I never expected to make Jennifer a widow. Okay she technically won't be a widow because we never got married. Maybe she is pregnant so she could have something to remember me by. I knew we shouldn't have wasted all that time. I should have told her how I felt years ago. We didn't have enough time together. If you really love her you would see that Jennifer is happy. Why don't you just let me go and I don't have to tell her what happened. I'll just tell Jennifer I got lost on my way to get ice. She'll believe me. I once got lost in the West Edmonton Mall and my father had to call security to track me down. She doesn't need to know what happened here. We can just go our separate ways. You can just drop me off at the nearest emergency room cause I think you did some major damage to my internal organs. Just let Jennifer be happy," he was gasping for air by the end of his pleading. Rodney could feel tears stinging the cuts on his face. "Please just let her be happy," he begged one last time. That is the only thing he wanted was for his fiancée to be happy.

Josh was starting to become unhinged, "Don't you ever shut up? You must love the sound of your own voice. As touching as you pleas might be I am the only one who has been ever to make Jennifer happy." He pulled the gun out from his back pocket and aimed it at Rodney.

* * *

John yelled out in excitement when he finally got a lock on Rodney's transmitter signal. "Sam...Jennifer we finally got a lock on his signal. We are about a quarter mile away," he said into the radio. Sheppard had been in constant contact with the two woman, but he nothing to report to them for the past twelve hours. He was starting to lose hope when he started to pick up the signal on the life signs detector.

Jennifer breathed out a sigh of relief when she heard John's transmission. Despite having the reassuring presence of Sam, her mind still imagined the worse possible outcomes. "Is he okay?" she asked, knowing it was too early to know anything. She could not sit still because of nervous energy that had been bubbling up since she found the blood on the floor.

"We are entering the warehouse now," John hushed his voice. "Looks like they are one floor above us." Sheppard pulled a gun from its holster. He nodded up the stairs to Ronon and both men made their way up the stairs. They could hear Rodney yelling and pleading with his captor and then the other man yell back.

Jennifer and Sam could hear the two men walking through the warehouse. For a moment there was silence and then a gunshot was heard followed by a agonizing cry from Rodney. There was a second gunshot followed by John yelling to call an ambulance.

"NO!" the panicked woman cried out. "John, what's going on?" There was no response from the radio. "Sheppard, answer me damnit."

* * *

A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger.


	13. Day 13

**Rating: **T

**Spoilers: **Season Five: Takes place after Brain Storm

**A/N: I don't own Stargate. Please read and review. Thank you to all those who have read this through. Thank for your continuing support. Thank you to ****Shadows-of-Realm for the beta.**

* * *

**Day 13- Waiting Game**

Jeannie rushed into the emergency room with Kaleb, Madison and Lenore following not too far behind. Her heart had almost stop when Sam called to tell her that her brother had been shot and was now in surgery, not sure if he was going to make it. She asked one of the triage nurses where her brother was and was told that he was still in surgery and directed her to the surgical waiting room on the fourth floor.

The family made their way to the fourth floor and as soon as they stepped out of the elevator Jeannie saw Sam talking to a nurse behind the desk. "Sam, how's my brother?"

Sam turned to face the group that had arrived. She recognized Kaleb and Madison, but she did not know the other woman. "He's still in surgery. I'm not going to sugar coat it. It looks bad. There is some internal bleeding that they are trying to stop," she was cut off before she could continue.

"Internal bleeding? You said Mer was shot in the shoulder. What exactly happened to him?" Jeannie demanded to know.

"He was taken from the hotel. Rodney went to get ice and he was attacked. It took a while to locate him. There was difficulty locking onto his transmitter signal," she knew that was not the kind of things the other woman wanted to hear.

"You are telling us that someone had Meredith for all that time and you call only after he had been found and in surgery?" Lenore spoke up, anger evident in her voice.

"I'm sorry and you are?" Sam looked at the woman who had just spoke up. Rodney had only mentioned having one sister, nothing about a second.

Kaleb did not want his daughter to witness what he had a feeling of what was about to go down, "I am going to take Maddie to get something to eat."

"I'm not hungry. I want to see Uncle Rodney," the young girl pouted.

"Sweetie, it is going to be a while before anyone is going to be allowed to see him," Jeannie gently reminded her daughter.

Madison made a face, "They are going to let HER in first aren't they? Let's go daddy," she started to pout.

Kaleb shook his head, "Madison, let's go have a little talk. Call me if anything happens," he said to his wife before taking his daughter's hand and walking off.

Jeannie watched as her husband and daughter left, "She's not taking the news of the engagement well. Sam, this is my mother. Mom, this is Colonel Samantha Carter. What's this about internal bleeding? I thought he was just shot in the shoulder." The panicked Canadian still wondered why she was only contacted after her brother had been found.

"The person who took Rodney also beat him up pretty bad. There was no sign of any internal bleeding at the time. Then according Jennifer after he started waking up from surgery he was having trouble breathing and complaining of severe pain in his chest and stomach and that's when his blood pressure dropped and he was rushed back. That was two hours ago and he's been in surgery since," Sam had never heard Rodney really talk about his parents outside of the time he mentioned that he had an uncomfortable childhood after he nearly blew her up during Anubis' attack on the SGC.

"Why didn't you call me sooner?" Jeannie still had not received the answer she was looking for.

Sam sighed, "We had to make sure it was not connected to his work and any projects Rodney might have been working on."

Lenore let out a loud sigh, "What is it with this job? It got my daughter kidnapped last year. What is it you people are working on that there is so much danger involved? Was it because of Meredith's work?"

The colonel shook her head, "Not this time."

"Then what?" The mother and daughter asked at the same time.

"It was an old acquaintance of Jennifer," Sam did not know what else to say.

Lenore rolled her eyes, "Well, where is she?" The was great annoyance in the mother's voice. She had a feeling that the younger woman would be trouble.

Carter shook her head, "I don't know. I think she went to get some air." She was worried about the other woman, knowing that Jennifer was not taking it well that Rodney was back in surgery. It was the hard part of being a medical doctor and having a loved one seriously injured, you know exactly all the things that could go wrong.

John hated waiting around especially when it was someone he care about and it made it worse that there was nothing he could do to help. He and Ronon had already did their part in rescuing Rodney from Jennifer's crazy ex. The man had taken aim to fire a second shot that aimed to fire into McKay's head when Ronon shot first, hitting Josh in the head.

He had just rounded the corner when he saw Sam talking to Jeannie and another woman.

"Who's she?" Ronon asked, pointing to the third woman.

"Don't know," Sheppard shrugged. "Friend of Jeannie's?"

Jeannie heard the voices behind her and gave a half smile when she saw John and Ronon. Her brother was lucky to have friends like them.

"Hey, Jeannie," John said as he approached the group. "Any word?"

Sam shook her head, "Not yet. I just checked. Did you find Jennifer?"

Ronon shook his head, "No." He started to think she did not want to be found.

Jeannie looked at her brother's friends, "Were you the one who the ones who rescued Mer?"

"Who else would save his sorry ass? Besides it's the least we could do after the countless times he saved all of us and I told him to come back to us in one piece so I had to make sure he did just that," John laughed despite the worry written on his face.

"You're a good friend, John. You too, Ronon," she shook her head. Sometimes she envied the closeness between the two men as they seemed to have a close bond she would never have with him as long as her brother lived in another galaxy.

Lenore looked over both men not expecting them to be the type of men would have been friends with her son. "Thank you for saving my son," she said sincerely to both men. It was hard to have ill feelings toward her son when she heard that his outlook was bleak.

John raised an eyebrow at learning this woman was Rodney's mother. He normally would had fun with this knowledge, but now was not the right time and on the few times McKay had mentioned his mother it was never positive. "Rodney is like a brother to me so I would do just about anything for him." They even fought like they were brothers.

* * *

Jennifer pressed the button on the elevator and sighed when she saw it on the top floor. Her emotions were all over the place. She thought Rodney was going to be fine until he started complaining of severe chest and abdominal pain and she noticed his labored breathing. At first she thought the disorientation was just from the anesthesia and when she saw his blood pressure drop she knew it had to be caused by internal bleeding. Before she knew it he was being rushed out of recovery and back into surgery. This was not supposed to be happening, the young woman thought. She pulled a chain out from under her shirt or should she say Rodney's shirt. Jennifer had not changed her clothes since he went missing. The physician stared at her engagement ring that hung on the silver metal. She had put the important piece of jewelry on her neck after Sam had found it in the bathroom and now she knew it did not belong around her neck but on her finger; where it had been since it had been put there a week ago and now it was back where it was going to stay.

The crying woman took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. The very real threat of losing Rodney after everything was almost too much for her to take.

She wrapped her arms tightly around herself as it seemed to take forever for the elevator to arrive. The impatient woman pressed the button several times as it would make the elevator come any faster. Suddenly a chill froze Jennifer in the spot she was standing in. Her heart skipped a beat when she started smelling Rodney's cologne and she swore she felt his arm around her waist. "No. Don't you do this to me," she choked back a sob. An overwhelming felling of dread overcame her and Jennifer fought the urge to be sick. She tightly closed her eyes and forced herself to think on more pleasant memories like the first time she has met Rodney. Of course it had to involve a trip to the infirmary for him.

_

* * *

_

_It had been her third day in Atlantis and she had met all the department heads except the head of science and research whom she had started to think was intentionally avoiding her. Jennifer had heard different things about the mysterious Dr. McKay. With the way some talked about him she was expected a seven foot ogre and he was the only person in the city with a higher IQ than her. She heard them coming before she could see them. _

_"You tried to kill me," Rodney's voice carried down the hallway. _

_"I flung a spoonful of jello at you. That is not trying to kill you, Rodney." John said with an annoyed tone._

_"Oh, really? Then explain why my head is bleeding."_

_"Easy. When you tried to throw it back at me you dropped your spoon and you hit your head on the corner of the table when you went to pick it up," Sheppard countered. _

_McKay made an annoyed sound, "But I would not have had to throw it back at you if you it didn't start it." His tone was that of a whining child. _

_"Because your comment about the thing didn't deserve some payback," the other man stooped down to childlike levels too. _

_"And yet I am the one who is going to need stitches."_

_"You aren't going to need stitches. The cut is not that bad. Why are you so reluctant to get it checked out? It is unlike you to avoid the infirmary. Did you already make an ass of yourself to the new doctor?" John asked. "What did you do to her? You didn't walk in her when she was naked?" He thought new CMO was attractive so it would not be the worst thing to have happened. _

_Rodney looked at his friend as if he was crazy, "What? No. Is she hot or something? I haven't met her yet." _

_The two men walked into the infirmary and were met by the hard stare of the woman they had just been talking about. "You two realize I can hear you."_

_"Now you've made an ass of yourself," John smirked at Rodney._

_"Thanks to you, flyboy."_

_"Are you two always like this?" she had heard all of their conversation. Jennifer looked at the shorter man, noting he was not what she had been expecting. "Come on. Let me check out that cut," she motioned to the nearest bed._

_"For the most part," Rodney shrugged as he hopped up on the bed. "And you are?"_

_"Dr. Jennifer Keller," she pulled the napkin away from the cut above his eyebrow. The first thing the CMO noticed was his blue eyes. They were nice eyes; not something to be found on a scary ogre. "You must be the Dr. McKay I've heard so much about." Jennifer started to clean the small wound with saline._

_The physicist winced as the cut was cleaned, "What is that supposed to mean?" There was a sour expression on his face._

_"It's just nice to put a face to the name. I was starting to get the impression that you were avoiding me," she had heard that Rodney had been good friends with Carson and she thought that might be the reason for his avoidance. _

_"Excuse me?" he was stunned that someone he did not know was that forward with him. "I...I...I haven't been avoiding you," Rodney managed to crack a smile. There was something about her attitude that he found appealing._

_'Nice smile too' Jennifer thought to herself. "There. All taken care of," she put a small butterfly bandage on the wound._

_"That's it? I don't need stitches? I was bleeding a lot," Rodney's hypochondria was getting the better of him._

_"That it," she reaffirmed. "Now if your brains start leaking out from the wound or you start hearing voices come find me."_

_Rodney started to laugh, "You're funny. Thank you." A genuine smile formed._

_John looked shocked at his friend, "Doc, maybe you should scan his brain or something." He could not recall the last time Rodney had said thank you to someone._

_"Shut it, Sheppard," McKay got off the bed and nudged his friend toward the door._

_"Are you feeling okay? You actually said thank you."_

_"So what? Besides she is really hot," Rodney had been trying to whisper when they entered the hallway._

_Jennifer had heard their exchange and shook her head, "I can hear both of you." She made sure they heard her._

* * *

At the time Jennifer had been slightly offended by the encounter and now she thought it would be an amusing story that they could tell their children one day if Rodney pulled through surgery. Right now she would do anything to be able to see those eyes and that smile.

The elevator finally arrived and just as the door was about to close when Jennifer heard some asking her to hold the elevator. She pressed the open button and wiped her eyes with her other hand.

Jennifer had been looking at her hands, mainly the ring that she had put back minutes later. She knew this was not right. They should be celebrating and not having her worry if her other half was going to pull through surgery. It took several seconds for it to register that someone was calling her name. Her blood turned cold when she was who it was. Of course Josh's parents would have been called, but she wondered if they who how crazy their son was.

"Jenny, what happened?" the petite Claudia Clarkson asked. She thought it could not have been good if the other woman had been crying as much as she had. "Where is my son?"

The visibly upset woman had to keep her temper in check. They clearly had no idea of everything that had happened yesterday. "Don't know," she refused to look at them. _And don't care. _

"How can you not know? Weren't you here with him?" Pete Clarkson asked.

"Excuse me?" Jennifer said with a shaky voice. "No," she said feeling angry that no one had picked up the signs that something had been mentally wrong with Josh.

"That's not what Josh said before he left. He said he was coming here to meet you before you went back to work," the worried mother said.

She shook her head, "Didn't you see the signs that something was wrong?"

"What are you talking about? There is nothing wrong with my son." Claudia got defensive that anyone could suggest something was wrong with her only child.

Jennifer could not take it anymore, "He kidnapped my fiancé, held him for fifteen hours, beat him within an inch of his life and shot him. Oh yeah, there is nothing wrong with that. Now Rodney is back in surgery to stop the internal bleeding from the beating and they aren't sure if he is going to make it. Perfectly normal behavior. " She was relieved when the elevator arrived at the fourth floor, but it only lasted a second because when the door opened she saw that vile woman that gave birth to Rodney, "Great now the vultures are circling." She stepped out of the elevator.

"Why would he do something like that?" the petite woman reached out to grab Jennifer's arm.

"Because he was crazy. Because he didn't get the hint years ago that I didn't want anything else to do with him," the enraged woman yelled. "And get your hands off of me."

John's head turned when he heard Jennifer yelling. It startled him a bit because he had never seen this side of her and he wondered if she had heard something about Rodney that they hadn't. "Everything okay, doc?" he went over to see if everything was alright.

Jennifer shook her head, "Just fine. Keep them away from me. They are _his __parents._"

Sheppard knew what she meant and gave them a dirty look, "Nurse's station is that way," the military man pointed Josh's parents toward it. "Interesting woman." He nodded toward were Lenore stood.

"A horror is more like it," she recalled the encounters with the woman in Vancouver. "Have you heard anything?"

John shook his head, "Not yet. Still in surgery, but we know how stubborn he is. It's going to be no time till he is back to the Rodney we know and love."

Jennifer sighed heavily, "I feel so useless not being able to do anything but just waiting to hear something." At least when he was infected by the parasite a couple months back she did everything she could to find a cure and now it felt wrong to do nothing but worry.

"He's going to need you when he wakes up and that's going to be most important," he tried to calm her fears, but he had the same ones.

"These past two weeks have been amazing. I don't think I will be able to handle it if something were to happen to him. I love him. I mean really truly love him," she looked up to see Lenore approach Josh's mother.

John smiled at her admission, but she only confirmed what he had known for a couple of months now. "Rodney loves you too and he is not going to let something like this stop him from coming back to you."

It wasn't hard for Lenore to figure out that the people who got off the elevator with Jennifer were the parents of the man who attacked her son. She thought it would be good to teach the woman a lesson and she approached her and before she had a chance to react Lenore backhanded the other woman across the face. "That is for what your son did to mine." If anyone was going to make her son's life miserable it was going to be her. She thought she had earned the right after twenty-six hours of labor and making a mess out of her life. This was one of those grey moments were her actions had duel meanings behind it. One being that only she could make Meredith miserable and the second that she being a protective mother.

Claudia was stunned by the sudden attack and she jumped back from the crazy woman. "What is wrong with you? My son would never do the things she said he did," she pointed to Jennifer.

"But he did," Ronon spoke up. "I saw him. He was going to kill Rodney if we didn't stop him."

"Why would Josh do what you said he did?" Pete asked. He wanted to know how his son was doing and getting into a fight with these people was not something he thought appropriate at this time.

"Because of that hussy over there," Lenore pointed to Jennifer.

"MOM!" Jeannie started at her mother, not believing that she had said that. Jennifer was far being what her mother just accused her.

Jennifer rolled her eyes and looked at John, "I told you horror. She actually asked me that if Rodney was paying me to be with him."

"Really?" Sheppard asked.

"Yes. Can you believe it?" she asked as if the craziest notion ever.

John smirked, "Well you two are quite different...soooo."

"Shut it, Sheppard," Jennifer glared and slapped John's arm. She smiled slightly and shook her head.

"Then again...not different at all," he rubbed his arm. "Plus I got you to smile. So mission accomplished."

"What?" Lenore looked at her daughter. "Is anything I've said wrong. The hussy shows up and then this happens. How much do you want to bet that she was playing both men?"

"Jennifer came to Vancouver to check on Mer after he got sick because she was worried about him," Jeannie shook her head. She wanted to question her mother's sanity as her moods flip-flopped when it came to Rodney.

"What is with you?" Jennifer glared at her future mother-in-law. "I don't get you. It's like there is more..." she was distracted by the arrival of two surgeons. Both looked exhausted and their expressions hard to read and the first asked for the Clarksons and the other was there for them.

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group and any problems everyone had with each other was forgotten.

"How's my brother?" Jeannie was the one who broke the silence. She could see Jennifer holding her breath as was John, Ronon and her mother.

"Rodney made it through surgery. It was touch and go for a while, but we managed to stop the bleeding. There was some bruising to his kidneys. One of his cracked ribs nicked part his spleen. That is where most of the blood came from. It's going to be a long recovery, but barring any complications he should make a complete recovery."

"Thank you, doctor," Jennifer finally was able to relax. "When can we see him?" she heard the Clarkson's breakdown into sobs. Josh did not make it. The physician side of her felt bad that he did not make it, but the bigger part of her as Rodney's fiancée was indifferent, relieved that he would not able to bother them again.

"In a couple of hours. He will be in the recovery room until then. After that he will be moved to his own room," the surgeon explained.

"You killed my son," Claudia yelled as she looked at the group that had just received the news she wanted to hear. "Why did he have to die and he gets to live? You will all be sorry," the grieving woman cried out as he husband tried to drag her away.

* * *

**AN: Day 14 to be posted tomorrow and then it will be a wrap on this tale.**


	14. Day 14

**Rating: **T

**Spoilers: **Season Five: Takes place after Brain Storm

**A/N: I don't own Stargate. Please read and review. Thank you to all those who have read this through. Thank for your continuing support. **Thank you to Shadows-of-Realm for the beta.

* * *

**Day 14- Rise and Shine; There is no Place Like Home**

Rodney slowly opened his eyes and could see the bright sun pouring into the room and it was too bright for his sensitive eyes. It was immediately clear to him they had him on serious drugs as his head felt like it was underwater and a dozen cotton balls stuffed into his mouth. The last memory he recalled clearly was Josh pointing a gun at him and firing and anything after that was a blur; only snippets of moments could be recalled.

John had not been able to sleep for past twelve hours and had spent most of the time watching over his unconscious friend so he did not miss when he opened and closed his eyes. "Hey, there sleepy head. You gave us quite a scare."

"Sheppard," he said groggily. The woozy scientist wondered how long he had been out as his friend was supposed on Atlantis.

"At least your memory is still all there," the military man got up and closed the blinds in the room. "Better?"

"Hmm. That debatable," he still did not open his eyes. Everything was spinning as it was and Rodney knew opening his eyes again would make it worse. "Can't move my left arm," there was alarm in his voice. The haze from the painkillers made him feel as if he was floating out of his own body, but he was sure he could not move the arm.

John chuckled, knowing if McKay had opening his eyes he would know the reason that he could not move the arm. "That's because your girlfriend is sleeping on it. And Chewy is sitting on the floor sleeping."

"Not girlfriend," his voice was raspy. "Water," Rodney finally opened his eyes. The brightness was gone thanks to the closed blinds and the vertigo was not as bad as he expected. "You came?"

John rolled his eyes, thinking his friend had to be still out of it to say Jennifer was not his girlfriend. "Not the girlfriend? Well whatever she is. When Jennifer called the SGC it was during a scheduled dial-in so Ronan and I rushed over. I think this is the first bit of sleep she has gotten since you went missing," he poured some water into a cup and stuck a straw in it, "You are lucky you are injured. Otherwise I would not do this for you." John held the cup close enough so Rodney could drink from it.

Rodney took several long sips from the straw and sighed with relief. He turned his head to see the sleeping woman, sitting in a chair with most over her top half rest on the bed and his arm.

"She was real worried about you. Borderline hysterical. You sure she's not girlfriend? That was a pretty nice cozy room you were sharing."

Rodney managed to crack a small smile, "Because..."

"Because he is playing a semantics game with you. He asked me to marry him and I said yes. So that puts me past girlfriend status," Jennifer said with a smile. She was relieved that he was finally awake. "Hey," the still worried woman ran her hand along his hairline. "How are you feeling?" she already had an idea of his reply, but she just wanted to hear his voice.

"Hmm ," Rodney murmured. "Feels like they have me on a lot of drugs," he laughed slightly; a side effect of the drugs. "How bad is it?"

John interrupted, "Wait! You're engaged? That was...well fast. You two left for your first date and two weeks later you are engaged." he had not noticed a ring on her finger and wondered if the two were pulling his leg, but the colonel thought Rodney was still too out of it to be joking like that.

"For a week now," Jennifer showed him her left hand.

He had to do a double take when he saw the ring on her finger. "Nice ring. Congrats to both of you." _I can see the diamond this time. From Tiffany's too. I'm impressed. _John knew his friend had it bad for the blonde doctor since her arrival on Atlantis and he was happy for Rodney when it became clear a couple of months ago that she had felt the same way. "Aww my little boy is all grown up and getting married." He was happy for his friend and thought Jennifer was a much better match for him than his previous girlfriend.

Rodney started to laugh, but it hurt too much to continue. The painkillers had to be starting to wear off, "Funny. Keep it up and you will be left off of the guest list." He frowned, realizing they had never answered his question. "I'm dying, aren't I? That's why you did answer me when I asked how bad it was? How long do I have?" he started to panic.

"You are going to be fine," Jennifer cupped his face with her hands. Her eyes locked with his. The normal shine that were there was faded; clouded in pain, both emotional and physical. She had no idea what Josh had put him through in fifteen hours that he had Rodney captive. All she knew was that the crazy man was about to shoot her fiancé again, but Ronan got off a shot first.

"Sorry, the whole you being engaged thing kind of distracted me. It took the two of you so long to admit that you were in love with each other and then a week after your first _official _date you ask her to marry you," John said with a good natured smile. He had raised his hands held up two fingers on each hand as to put quotation marks around the word official. "Sorry if I am a little surprised. I was expecting you to come back to Atlantis and be complaining about getting the nerve to ask her on a second date. But seriously, dude I am really happy for the both of you. You know I will be severely disappointed if I am not made best man."

"As I have much of a choice in the matter," he did not break his eye contact with Jennifer and a hint of a smile began to form despite him becoming more aware of the severe pain he was in. "What is the damage total? I blacked out so many times," he closed his eyes and winced.

"You have a bruised right kidney, five cracked ribs, a hairline fracture of your right wrist, multiple contusions on your chest, a GSW to your right shoulder, a few cuts to your face. You had some internal bleeding that they stopped. It looks like you are going to get that note you wanted for at least the foreseeable future," she smiled tenderly at him.

Rodney frowned and pouted the best he could with the pain in his face. "Not exactly the reason I wanted the note. Is this going to delay my return to Atlantis?"

John shook his head and laughed, "Is that what you are really worried about?" Rodney's mind really amazed him sometimes. He did not ask about any permanence to his injures, just if they were going to keep him from returning to work.

"I can't have Zelenka in change of my department for too long. Who knows what state it will be in if I am gone for longer than I already have been," he said with all seriousness.

Jennifer and John exchanged looks and both rolled their eyes. "You know you really are something, McKay. You just wake up from major surgery and one of your first thoughts is about getting back to Atlantis."

"Pretty much," Rodney said simply. "So are one of you going to answer me?" he looked between the two of them.

"The Daedalus leaves in the morning and since the two of us know you so well we were able to convince the doctors here to have you transferred to a nice cozy military medical facility first thing in the morning. It was more of your bride to be's doing, used her pull as a doctor," John pointed to the woman sitting on the other side of the bed. "You are a lucky man, Rodney."

"You don't have to tell me," Rodney said with a goofy grin as he looked over at his fiancée, not wanting to look at anything else. "So that means the Daedalus' infirmary?"

Jennifer nodded, "And possibly then some. Depends on how you heal from your surgery."

"Oh, come on," he whined. "How bad was it that I need that much time? I've been shot before." Rodney did not like the idea of having to spend an extended period in the infirmary.

John saw the look the woman was his cue to leave the room. "I'm going to get something to eat. Be back in a few," he patted Rodney's leg before heading toward the door. "Come on, Chewy. Wake up," he nudged the sleeping man with his foot.

Ronon groaned as he was woken up, "What?"

"Going to get some food. Come with me," he offered his hand to the Satedan.

"I'm not hungry. Going back to sleep," Ronon grumbled and rubbed his eyes.

John sighed and nodded toward the bed, "Want to give them some time alone."

The other man looked toward the bed where he could see Jennifer and Rodney looking at each other as if they were the only two in the room, "Good to see you finally awake, McKay."

Rodney looked away from Jennifer for a moment, "Um, thanks...for everything." He had assumed it was Ronon and John who eventually saved him or else they would not have been here. "I owe the both of you one."

"Just let us plan your bachelor party and we can call it even," John was already making big plans for the party.

McKay knew his friends tone well and he knew he was in for it. He look over at Jennifer and shook his head, "The wedding is still a long ways off. Just don't spend too much time planning it. I want to be able to remember my wedding and I don't think you want to piss off my bride either."

"Wedding?" Ronon asked, wondering how much he missed while he was asleep. He had figured that the kidnapping would have bought the two closer and killed any chanced he would have had with Jennifer, but he had not expected marriage talk.

"I'll tell you all about it outside," John nodded to the door. "You two behave while we are gone."

Once the door was closed Rodney turned his attention back to Jennifer, "You look like crap." It was an attempt to joke around, but he could see the lingering worry on her face.

Jennifer knew what he was trying to do, "And so do you." She reached to squeeze his good hand, relieved that he was acting like his old self already.

"I just woke up from surgery. I've got an excuse. What's yours?" he tried to smirk, but was inhibited from doing so by the cut on his lip.

"Real cute, Rodney," Jennifer rolled her eyes. "My excuse is that I've spent almost the past two and half days wondering if I was ever going to get to talk to you again. Good enough reason?" she said with a sarcastic clip to her voice.

He nodded slightly, not wanting to cause himself too much pain. "Good enough reason. When he had me I was scared that I would never get to see you again, never get to make you my wife, never get to hold our first born. After he shot me I really thought I was done for."

She felt a lump form in her throat as he spoke, "Now we will get to do all those things. Don't forget about the grandkids and the great-grandkids too," Jennifer smiled as she could see a slight shine return to his eyes.

"Only with you. I don't want to waste any more time with you. I don't know if this is too soon or not, but I want to try to start on trying to have a baby. You might think that it is because I almost died, but so what if it is. What if something were to happen to one of us? Wouldn't you be comforted to know that there is a part of you out there," he knew the idea sounded crazy, but the past two weeks showed that crazy ideas were a smart move with them.

Jennifer sat there, staring blankly at her fiancé. She knew she eventually wanted to have children with him, but his sudden urgency took her by surprise. They had just became a couple and she wanted to enjoy some alone time with him and she knew that would change with having a baby. "Rodney, let's talk about this when you are a feeling better."

Rodney frowned, "What? You don't want to have kids?"

"I didn't say that," she squeezed his hand. "Call me selfish, but I want some just us time before we have kids. I'm not ready to share you yet, even if it is with our child. Besides it'll be quite while before you are healed enough for any activity like that."

The man frowned, thinking she was stalling or hiding something, "How long?"

"Two to three months at least," Jennifer was not happy about it, but her first priority was to make sure he healed properly.

"Oh, come on," Rodney whined. "You've got to be kidding me?"

"Afraid not," she brushed his cheek with the back of her hand. "You don't remember waking up from the first surgery do you?" The look of confusion on his face confirmed that. "I almost lost you for good. I don't want to risk anything until you are fully healed . I plan on holding you to that whole until death do us part thing and that is not going to be anytime soon."

When she put it that way Rodney knew he could not argue. He smiled at Jennifer's obvious concern for him. "You know this also means your head has lost its pillow for while too. I don't think having a head rest on cracked ribs will help them heal." Rodney winced as he tried to shift to get into a comfortable position.

"Cute," she matched his smirk. "That just gives me further incentive to make sure you heal properly. What's wrong?" Jennifer asked as she saw him in pain.

"Can't get comfortable and it hurts to move. Think the drugs are wearing off."

Jennifer looked at her watch, "It's too soon for another dose of morphine. I'm sorry." She wished she could do more for him, but she could only lend moral support at this time.

"Just going to have to suck it up for a while?" The pain was not as bad as he was making it out to be, but it was enough to make him very uncomfortable.

She nodded and hoped that taking his mind off the pain could help, "Jeannie was telling me that you mentioned the possibility of a destination wedding to her. Did you have something in mind?"

"Jeannie's here?" he asked.

"With Kaleb, Madison and Lenore," Jennifer was unsure of how Rodney was going to react about his mother being here. "They went back to the hotel to get some rest. They should be back in a few hours."

"Why did she come?"

"Not sure.

"Lenore was playing her usual games." It did not feel right to use the word mother when it came to that woman. She was anything but to Rodney.

"I don't want to see her. Don't want to play what ever games she is up to," Rodney frowned. His mother seemed to want to play ping pong with his emotions and he was not going to have any of it. "At least we will be on our way home this time tomorrow. " He thought it was the best way to avoid her and not risk being hurt by the woman. To him Atlantis was home and nothing gave him more pride than to protect his home.

"Home," she echoed his sentiments. "There is no place like it and that's anywhere as long you are with me," Jennifer's cheeks flushed. It was still a little scary that emotions for one person could be this intense.

"I love you too," he knew what she meant by the comment. A mischievous grin formed on his face.

She knew that look and wondered what he was thinking, "Okay, what is with that grin?"

"Nothing," Rodney shook his head. "Just thinking that life is going to be very good from now on. Our life to be exact."

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED IN ...Back to Life in the Milky Way debuting in Late September 2010**


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